TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, December 18. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has prepared the National Digital Agriculture Program for the development of digital agriculture in Uzbekistan, Trend reports.
The project draft was presented during the recent final seminar of the project Preparing the Foundations for the Digital Transformation of Agriculture in Uzbekistan, which brought together national and international experts in Tashkent to demonstrate the lessons learned and provide recommendations for further implementation of innovations and digital technologies in the country’s agriculture.
This project has aided in the growth of collaboration and knowledge exchange between farmers, agribusiness businesses, research, and agricultural consulting services in the Uzbek Ferghana Valley at both the national and local levels.
During the presentation event, Daniela Di Gianantonio, Head of the FAO Group on Digital Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia, noted that Uzbekistan has taken important steps towards digitalizing e-government systems in agriculture.
“The National Digital Agriculture Program will serve as a strategic guide for transforming the country's agri-food system into a modern, competitive, and sustainable sector,” she said.
Meanwhile, in October this year, the project team led by FAO international consultant Bradley Patterson made field visits to four forestry enterprises in Uzbekistan to monitor the work carried out in 2023.
Over the past period, drainage facilities have been created in the foothill areas of the pilot project sites to manage catchments on an area of more than 2,000 hectares; 180 seed sites have been created to improve the condition of 20,000 hectares of degraded pastures; and technical work has been carried out on an area of 4,200 hectares to promote the natural renewal of forests.
In total, during the implementation of the FAO project in Uzbekistan, work to ensure sustainable forest management was carried out on an area of 78,000 hectares.