Baku, Azerbaijan, May 24
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Strategy Partners Group, a Russian consulting company, will assist Uzbekistan in creating a strategy for the development of agriculture until 2030, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture stated citing a draft decree on May 24.
According to the document, the disorderly planning in agriculture and lack of an effective mechanism for interaction between the authorized bodies led to a dilution of responsibility for the decisions made and the achievement of certain results.
Such problems have led to low efficiency in the use of production and resource potential, as well as hindered diversification and modernization of the industry, introduction of advanced innovative and resource-saving technologies.
Intensive use of land and non-compliance with the principles of rational resource allocation led to salinity of 45 percent of irrigated land. Due to lack of focus on export development, the country has not yet developed infrastructure and a system for promoting products abroad, with the markets of certain foreign countries being closed to Uzbek products with high added value due to protectionism policies.
The difficulty in creating necessary volumes of supply for large importers is an additional constraint. The issue is caused by high fragmentation of agricultural producers in the republic. Products with low added value predominate in their portfolio, while their productivity is still inferior to developed countries.
The Ministry of Agriculture together with the Strategy Partners Group will complete drafting a strategy for the development of agriculture until 2030 by December 31, 2018.
The strategy will have to contain measures for stable growth of added value in manufactured products, increase of export volumes, as well as geographical and product diversification of supplies, ensuring food and environmental security, increasing the efficiency of the industry and further increasing per capita income and the quality of life of the rural population.
According to experts, implementation of the strategy will result in the country becoming one of the leaders of Central Asia in exporting food and light industry products with high added value, rationally using and constantly developing labor, water and land resources.
Strategy Partners Group is a Russian strategic consultant who is operating since 1994. The company assists its clients in carrying out transformations that promote effective use of intellectual, material and financial resources to ensure leadership in competition and sustainable growth.
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