On the science-driven transformation of Uzbekistan’s agricultural sector
To what extent does the ANORA platform initiative represent Uzbekistan’s agricultural transformation? How will it translate into tangible outcomes for farmers and agribusinesses?
ABDURAKHMONOV: Uzbekistan’s agricultural reforms over the past eight years have been grounded in President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s vision of human dignity – a concept that encompasses not just material welfare but the right of every farmer, every family and every community to benefit meaningfully from the resources of this land. ANORA is the vehicle through which we are mobilising international finance – public and private – to make that ambition a reality at scale. It aligns policy, technical assistance and capital across value chains, infrastructure and sustainable land management.
The practical outcomes we are targeting are significant. Eight years ago, Uzbekistan exported less than $1bn worth of agricultural products. Cotton alone barely reached that threshold in raw fibre form. In 2026 we are targeting $4bn in food exports, with cotton contributing a further $4bn as a processed, value-added commodity. ANORA is designed to accelerate that trajectory by closing financing gaps, strengthening logistics infrastructure and connecting Uzbek producers to premium markets.
In what ways is the Ministry of Agriculture navigating the balance between higher-value crops and modernising production? Which value chains hold the greatest export potential?
ABDURAKHMONOV: Cotton is embedded in our culture, our craft traditions and a century of accumulated farming knowledge. You cannot and should not simply remove it from the landscape. But you can transform how it is grown, how it is processed and what returns it generates.
We have addressed a fundamental agronomic problem that was suppressing yields for decades: cotton in Uzbekistan’s climate does not have enough time to ripen naturally. By introducing senescence-mediated cotton maturity management – agronomic techniques that prompt the plant to complete its maturation cycle within the available growing season – we have achieved substantial yield improvements without changing seed varieties or inputs. The results have been remarkable and they demonstrate that science-driven, low-cost interventions can be transformative.
At the same time, we have reduced the cotton area from approximately 1.3m ha historically to around 800,000 to 900,000 ha by 2026, with a target of 500,000 ha in the medium term. The land released has moved into horticulture, where the economics are compelling: 1 ha of fruit or vegetable production generates roughly 10 times the profit of 1 ha of cotton. Horticulture, agro-processing and pharmaceutically relevant crops such as technical cannabis and natural fibres like jute are all part of our diversification roadmap.
Which reforms and investments are most critical for irrigation infrastructure? How is Uzbekistan mobilising climate finance to address them?
ABDURAKHMONOV: Water is our most constrained resource and cotton has historically been our most water-intensive crop. That is one of the most powerful arguments for the diversification strategy I described: as we shift from cotton to horticulture and other crops, we simultaneously reduce water consumption per unit of agricultural output.
On the infrastructure side, the Soviet-era irrigation system covers 4.3m ha but was designed for a different era and a different crop mix. Modernising it requires sustained capital investment – both from the government and from international climate finance entities. The ANORA platform is specifically designed to mobilise this capital, working with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Development Bank and other multilateral partners. The government is also turning to science to develop water-tolerant and drought-resistant crop varieties through genomic and epigenetic approaches that reduce per-hectare water requirements without sacrificing yield.
What are the most significant gaps that private investment could fill in Uzbekistan’s agricultural sector?
ABDURAKHMONOV: The gaps are real and they are significant, which means the opportunities are also real and significant. Cold-chain logistics is perhaps the most acute: without adequate cold storage and refrigerated transport, we lose produce value between harvest and market, and we cannot access premium export markets that require unbroken cold chains. This is an area where private investment, both domestic and foreign, can generate strong commercial returns while solving a genuine national bottleneck. Agro-processing is another major opportunity. We have an abundance of raw materials such as fruit, vegetables, grains and cotton, and we want to capture value locally rather than exporting commodities for processing elsewhere. For technology companies, the digitalisation of farm management is a fast-growing priority: we have signed a memorandum with a US drone company for precision agriculture applications and we are actively integrating artificial intelligence, genomics and digital platforms into our agricultural knowledge innovation system in partnership with the EU.
How do you see Uzbekistan’s agricultural export mix evolving over the next decade and what is the strategy for closing the certification and logistics gaps that currently limit access to premium markets?
ABDURAKHMONOV: Diversification is the overriding imperative. Dependence on any single crop – however culturally significant – is an economic vulnerability. Our export mix will shift progressively toward higher-value horticulture, processed food products and speciality agricultural commodities.
Accessing premium markets in the EU, the Gulf and East Asia requires phytosanitary certification, food safety compliance and cold-chain traceability that we are systematically building. Regional markets in China, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan offer nearer-term volume at scale, and they are important stepping stones. But the medium-term ambition is to qualify for the standards that command the highest margins.
The scientific dimension of this strategy is often underappreciated. My background is in genomics and I have spent my career at the intersection of science and agriculture. The epigenetic and genomic approaches we are applying – from seed dormancy management to crop diversification – are generating productivity gains that change the economics of Uzbek agriculture. We are not simply reforming an old system; we are building a new one, grounded in science, oriented to the market and designed for the climate conditions of the decades ahead.
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