Uzbekistan is actively progressing in its digital and rural transformation. The government is digitizing public services fostering a growing tech sector, and working toward rural innovation. The Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services of Uzbekistan, for instance, provides 350 public services in electronic format, which can be accessible to citizens and residents that have electronic identification through OneID Unified Identification System.
In Uzbekistan, the horticulture and livestock sectors are mainly composed of small-scale dehkkhan farmers, who lease plots ranging from 0.3 to 0.5 hectares, a structure that emerged post-independence. Two notable villages in Fergana, Novkent and Yuksalish, are part of the Digital Villages Initiative (DVI), focusing on smart greenhouse technologies and improved market access.
Agriculturally, Uzbekistan is modernizing farming methods and enhancing rural infrastructure, such as investing in agriculture machinery and adopting intensive production techniques. However, challenges like water scarcity, inadequate agricultural machinery, and bridging the urban-rural digital divide remain. Projects like DVI in Novkent and Yuksalish demonstrate a commitment to introducing digital tools to rural areas, paving the way for economic growth, enhanced public services, and improved quality of life in rural communities.
Uzbekistan
In 2023, FAO within the Digital Villages Initiative (DVI) supported the implementation of a special youth digital innovation programme in Uzbekistan aimed at mobilizing young talents in the Fergana valley to co-develop digital solutions to solve the challenges of their own rural communities.
The Digital Villages Initiative in Uzbekistan aims to bridge the digital divide and foster entrepreneurship in rural areas by equipping farmers from pilotvillages with digital and agri-entrepreneurship skills, among other interventions.
The FAO Digital Villages Initiative (DVI) supported the implementation of a special youth digital innovation programme in Uzbekistan aimed at mobilizing young talents in the Fergana valley to harness digital technologies to solve the challenges of their own rural communities.
Sitting in a field in the heart of Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, Shaodatkhon Oripova’s greenhouse isn’t just the simple structure it used to be. It’s now alive with digital sensors connected to the internet, through which the 62-year-old farmer can control the temperature, humidity, light and soil moisture.
Digital Villages in Action in Europe and Central Asia virtual event launched DVI actions in eight countries, bringing together policy actors, stakeholders, partners, and beneficiaries. Katerina Antanevich, FAO Digital Agriculture Specialist and Sociologist joined the session live from Novkent village to discuss Uzbekistan’s progress and plans for the introduction of DVI in the country.
Amidst the challenges confronting agriculture in Europe and Central Asia, this casebook unfolds the stories of 25 farmers and agripreneurs who have successfully embraced digital technologies.
This is a literature review on land use and integrated land use management systems in Uzbekistan. The review aims to synthesize and examine the state of knowledge and the scope for establishing various integrated resource and land use management strategies such as types of agroforestry systems and integrated pastoral management for the sustainable management of forest and agricultural resources in Uzbekistan.
Gender equality is a key to eliminating poverty and hunger, as it has been demonstrated by the FAO throughout its research worldwide. As part of the FAO efforts on generating evidence and knowledge, and in compliance with the FAO Policy on Gender Equality, the purpose of the Country Gender Assessment for Uzbekistan is to contribute to the production of knowledge for better informed, targeted and gender sensitive actions in agriculture and rural development.