On September 5, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting via videoconference on the issues related to food abundance and pricing in the country, the press office of the President of Uzbekistan reported.
The participants reported on the measures taken by the Government to ensure food security, in particular the allocation of additional lands by reducing the area under cotton and wheat so that the population would grow agricultural products. It is planned to allocate another 120,000 hectares this and next year, which will create jobs for more than a million people.
The participants evaluated domestic demand for specific food products and the capacity to address it, compile a list of import-dependent goods and adopted the decision to boost domestic production of such goods.
The President instructed the khokims of the regions to provide a sufficient number of warehouses for seasonal vegetables and fruits, increase the area under fruits and vegetables and take measures to increase lending volumes for farmers so that they would purchase seeds, agricultural machinery, fuel and lubricants and pest control products. In addition, the state intends to repay up to 50 percent of the cost of agricultural insurance for dehkans.
The participants discussed the issues related to the procurement of seed material, construction of vegetable nurseries, maintenance of stable agricultural prices and provision of concessional loans for the purchase of agricultural vehicles, processing and packaging equipment.
