Priority tasks identified to ensure food security and to develop livestock farming

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting to improve public administration in the field of food safety and support for livestock farming.

Broad opportunities have been created in the country to maintain a sustainable food supply and to procure, store, process, and export agricultural products. Four million hectares of sown area, storage facilities with a capacity of 1.5 million tons, and processing capacity of 3.5 million tons make it possible to provide the population with affordable, high-quality food products and to export goods worth $4 billion.

Uzbekistan intends to increase food exports to $10 billion and expand its export reach to another 100 countries by 2030.

It was emphasized that the food safety system must fully comply with international standards to achieve these goals.

To date, three agencies have handled food safety and control issues. As a result, a unified database has not been established among sanitary, veterinary, and quarantine authorities, and certain tasks and functions overlap. Consequently, entrepreneurs face unnecessary difficulties in export and import processes.

It was noted that the Plant Quarantine Agency has 100 tasks and functions, the Veterinary Development Committee has 115, and the sanitary and epidemiological surveillance system has 44. At the same time, a system for monitoring products “from cultivation to consumer” has not yet been fully established.

Issues requiring solutions also persist in the export sector. In particular, it was noted that the European Union had issued 25 warnings about pesticide residues in domestic products. This requires a fundamental revision of the product safety control system to improve competitiveness in international markets.

It was noted that, in practice, regulatory authorities had limited themselves to inspecting final products, while insufficient attention had been paid to adopting international standards that guarantee food safety at all stages of the production chain.

In this regard, a decision was made to implement a comprehensive reform of the food safety system and to establish a unified, centralized system that meets international requirements.

Thus, a Food Safety Committee will be established to oversee all supervisory processes in accordance with the “from field to table” principle. It will be formed based on the Plant Quarantine and Protection Agency, the Veterinary Development Committee, and the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare, which is responsible for food safety.

Under the new system, outdated inspections that impede business activity will be abandoned. Mandatory certification of food products will be abolished, and in its place, a risk-assessment-based control and inspection procedure will be introduced.

Today, this approach is used in only 1,600 of the 80,000 facilities across the country, or just 2 percent. In the future, an electronic system will be created to promptly notify about dangerous products and withdraw them from circulation.

Starting January 1, 2029, exports of fruit and vegetable products will be conducted only through agrologistics centers. A program will be developed to transition large food-industry enterprises with high export potential to international risk-analysis standards and Codex Alimentarius norms. It is planned to reach 20 percent by 2028, 60 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2032.

In 20 districts specializing in fruit and vegetable production, the activities of public inspectors who will assist in issuing internal phytosanitary certificates will be established. From now on, statistics on fruit and vegetable exports will be recorded in the region where the produce is grown.

Beginning in 2027, six state functions, including laboratory testing, animal vaccination, disinfection, and identification, will be gradually transferred to the private sector. Regional hokims have been instructed to take measures by the end of the year to establish at least two private laboratories and veterinary clinics in these areas.

An online monitoring system will be introduced for each product type. The Field Diary electronic system for farmers will be integrated into the Agro Kumakchi mobile application. Artificial intelligence will forecast pest spread and provide farmers with the necessary recommendations.

The rating of active and conscientious farmers is planned to be maintained, and additional benefits will be provided to them. A unified automated information platform for food safety will be launched by March 1, 2027. It will be integrated with the “single window” border control system, freeing exporters from unnecessary bureaucratic procedures.

Thanks to the new system, import processing time will be reduced from 9 to 2 days, and export processing time from 3 to 1 day. As a result, entrepreneurs will save 70 billion UZS in storage costs.

Issues related to the development of livestock farming and pasture management were also discussed at the meeting.

According to an analysis, over the past 25 years, the cattle population has declined by 12 percent in 42 percent of countries worldwide. The main reasons are the high cost of feed, drought, environmental factors, high interest rates, and falling incomes. As a result, average global meat prices have reached a record high.

Uzbekistan has significant opportunities to develop its livestock farming sector. The country has 16 million hectares of pastures, but only about 10 percent of this potential is being used.

In this regard, the Agency for the Development of Livestock and Pasture Management will be established under the Ministry of Agriculture. It will begin operations based on the Committee for Veterinary and Livestock Development.

The new agency has been tasked with increasing the cattle population to 16.5 million, the sheep and goat population to 30 million, and the poultry population to 141 million. It is also planned to bring the level of meat and milk processing to 50 percent, increase the share of pedigree livestock to 90 percent, and increase the area under fodder crops by 1.5 times.

To expand the feed base and improve breeding of pedigree livestock, one district in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and each region will specialize in livestock farming.

In these districts, up to 50 percent of cotton and grain areas may be used to sow fodder crops, with preferential loans available at 10 percent per annum. All farms will be allowed to build lightweight structures, feed storage facilities, and silage pits on 0.2 hectares of leased land without excessive bureaucracy.

By the end of the year, the task is to organize the breeding of 2 million head of cattle across 28,746 farms with at least 10 hectares.

Financial support measures for livestock farming have also been announced. Starting June 1, commercial banks will offer loans of up to 10 years at 10 percent per annum, with a 4-year grace period. Importers of pedigree livestock will be exempt from value-added tax until 2029.

Resources totaling 1 trillion UZS and $50 million will be deposited in banks at an annual interest rate of 6 percent. These funds are planned to be used this year to implement 1,500 projects worth 5.5 trillion UZS, create 25,000 jobs, and increase the cattle population by 400,000 head.

A new program will launch to train personnel and increase the number of pedigree livestock. Starting June 1, 10-day courses on artificial insemination will be held at leading agricultural universities. At least 1,000 specialists are planned to be trained annually and provided with the necessary equipment free of charge.

Subsidies of 500,000 and 700,000 UZS, respectively, will be paid for each pedigree calf obtained in households through artificial insemination and embryo transfer. An additional 50 billion UZS will be allocated for these purposes.

At the meeting, reports from responsible officials and proposals from entrepreneurs and farmers were heard. Specific instructions were given on effectively organizing the new system at the local level, providing practical support to entrepreneurs and farmers, and expanding the feed base, breeding activities, processing capacity, and export opportunities in livestock farming.

UzA