The President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Syrdarya region’s Sayhunabad district on March 14. A video conference meeting was held here to discuss measures for increasing the population’s income through the full utilization of household land plots and domestic enterprises.
The meeting was attended by the leadership of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the regions, the heads of 208 districts and cities, their deputies, representatives of banks and mahallas. The Head of our State emphasized that the residents of Sayhunabad aspire to a better life, for which it is necessary to provide them with conditions and create sources of income.
We allocate significant funds for the development of entrepreneurship, employment, and poverty reduction. Why did we organize the “Mahalla Seven” and bring the poverty eradication system to every household? Our goal is to utilize household plots, establish home-based production, expand services on the streets, and teach people to earn 1-2 million soms per hundred square meters, said the Head of our State.
However, the results in Sayhunabad fall far short of expectations. The systems responsible for agriculture, construction, and investment in the region are not functioning properly, and entrepreneurship is not growing.
As a result, the first deputy hokim of the Syrdarya region, the hokim of Sayhunabad district, and several other officials have been relieved of their duties.
During the meeting, the problems and untapped potential of the regions were analyzed using the example of Sayhunabad district.
Significant resources are allocated by the state to banks. Last year, 120 billion soms were allocated to support entrepreneurship in Sayhunabad. Entrepreneurs in the district received tax benefits totaling 85 billion soms.
However, the results do not correspond to the efforts expended. The number of official jobs in the private sector increased by only 968. In 2023, 167 new entrepreneurs appeared in the district, half of whom have not yet started their businesses.
Banks are simply taking the easy route and allocating resources to their regular clients. Ordinary people who want to become entrepreneurs and create jobs in their neighborhoods are left out. Ready projects that would allow them to escape poverty are not provided.
Last year, the industrial output in Sayhunabad hardly grew. In 16 out of 19 mahallas, there are no high value-added production facilities. Sixteen buildings and structures with ready-made infrastructure are idle. There are no initiatives for raw material processing, training people in production, and cooperation.
The district’s greatest reserves and opportunities lie in its land. Sayhunabad is one of the 26 districts where the area of household plots exceeds 20 hundred square meters. The main crops on these plots are feed and corn. Production and export of high-yield fruits and vegetables are not organized.
The Syrdarya River flows through the territory of Sayhunabad, and easy access to water has ingrained the perception that water is free. Water-saving technologies are implemented on only 22% of the land. Farming households do not use laser leveling. Due to the incomplete implementation of the canal concreting plan, there is insufficient water supply to 5,000 hectares of land in 9 mahallas.
The meeting discussed measures to address these problems and reduce unemployment.
First and foremost, the task was set to increase the population’s income through the utilization of household plots, the development of small-scale industries and services in 17,000 households in Sayhunabad. To achieve this, the responsible authorities, together with the hokim’s assistants, will allocate 19 mahallas and 794 streets among themselves and develop technical and economic justifications for each of them based on “driving” directions.
For the first time in Sayhunabad, an experiment has been conducted: each of the 19 mahallas has been provided with one mini-tractor and four motor cultivators. Now, the assistants of the hokims will develop business plans for the population based on the criterion of “minimum income of 1-2 million soms per 100 square meters”. Along with the agronomists of the mahallas, they will provide services for plowing and planting crops in household plots. This experience will be replicated throughout the Republic.
An important issue is the organization of a procurement system for the grown produce. For this purpose, an enterprise will be opened in the district to facilitate exports, with a charter capital of 1 billion soms. It will provide seeds of high-yielding pumpkin, mung bean, kidney bean, rosemary, broccoli, thyme to 4,000 farms, purchase the grown produce, and export it.
In addition, grants ranging from 300 million to 1 billion soms will be allocated to exporters and pioneering entrepreneurs of the mahallas.
In each of the 19 mahallas, 10 exemplary intensive gardens will be created. They will cooperate with exporters, and complexes for storage, sorting, and processing with a capacity of 2,000 units will be organized. Each exemplary farm will subsequently teach this to their neighbors. For this purpose, a tripartite agreement will be concluded between the hokim, the garden owner, and the bank.
There is also an opportunity to grow poplars for furniture enterprises. Therefore, 100 hectares of vacant land around the canals and drainage networks of the district will be divided among 500 farms for poplar planting.
Currently, only 60,000 birds are grown annually in Sayhunabad using industrial methods, which is very low. Therefore, four large poultry farms will be established, and 2,000 farms will cooperate with them. As a result, the farms will be able to grow 10 million birds per year, producing an additional 22,000 tons of poultry meat.
Furthermore, artificial reservoirs will be built in the mahallas through which the Syrdarya River passes for fish farming, and beehives for beekeeping and honey export will be distributed.
Families wishing to increase their livestock will be allocated 400 hectares of land for forage crops. Within the framework of the family entrepreneurship program, interest-free loans in the amount of 33 million soms in cash will be provided for the purchase of cattle, sheep, and goats. This will create conditions for increasing livestock in 1,500 farms. Milk collection points will be launched in such mahallas.
The need for assistance in organizing small-scale production at home is emphasized. For this purpose, 60 billion soms will be allocated to improve entrepreneurship infrastructure in the district. Projects will be implemented based on 21 vacant buildings with the involvement of investors. In the “Farovon” mahalla, a small industrial zone will be created on an area of 35 hectares, where industrial projects worth at least US$100 million will be launched.
The Head of State emphasized that not a single multi-story building was constructed in Sayhunabad last year and gave instructions on this matter.
Overall, as emphasized, this system should cover every mahalla, every street, every household in Sayhunabad. Responsible individuals have been tasked with implementing this new system in all 9,452 mahallas of the Republic.
This year will be a year of vital awakening and economic upliftment. For this, responsible individuals at the local level must work selflessly and lead others, said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Reports and proposals from hokims, sector leaders, representatives of the economic complex, and mahalla chairpersons were heard at the meeting.