In Uzbekistan a large-scale work is being carried out to reform the agricultural sector. These changes are significant with the fact, that they are aimed not only at increasing production volumes, but also at protecting the rights and interests of farmers, digitizing the sector and widely introducing market mechanisms.
As a result of the new approach, agriculture is gradually moving from administrative management to a conditiont of an economic freedom and competition.
One of the important areas of reform was the improvement of relations towards land issues.
According to the new procedure, openness and transparency are ensured in the allocation of land for agriculture, and an electronic auction system has been introduced. This allows farmers to exercise their right to use land on a legal and guaranteed basis. Most importantly, restrictions have been established on the groundless termination of land lease rights. Currently land lease relations are resolved by agreement of the parties or by court decision. This strengthens the farmer’s confidence in the future.
Fundamental reforms have been implemented, aimed at drastically reducing administrative interference in the activities of farmers and ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of producers, as well as a new system has been introduced in the sector.
Firstly, a transparent mechanism for the allocation of agricultural land has been introduced, creating an opportunity for farmers to freely purchase land through electronic auctions and a guarantee of protection of lease rights. For example, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from June 8, 2021 “On measures to ensure equality and transparency in land relations, reliable protection of land rights and their transformation into a market asset” created the opportunity for everyone to freely purchase agricultural land that is kept only in reserve through open electronic auctions.
In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from August 24, 2022, it was established that from September 1, 2022, documents that are the basis for the emergence of rights to land plots cannot be terminated. This includes the cancellation of documents of the Cabinet of Ministers, local government bodies by themselves or by higher bodies and officials, in particular, by the prosecutor’s protest.
According to the Decree, a land lease agreement of farms can be terminated by agreement of the parties based on their notarized consent or only by a court.
Guarantees of farmers’ lease rights have been strengthened at the Code level, and Article 36 of the Land Code establishes the procedure for terminating the lease right based on the application of the land user or a court decision..
Secondly, Secondly, under the new system, a mechanism for independent placement of crops on the lands leased by farmers has been introduced.
In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan adopted on August 12, 2025, starting from the 2026 harvest, farms, clusters and other agricultural organizations will independently place the types of crops to be planted on their land plots through the “Agroportal” (a single integration platform for “Digital Agriculture”). At the same time, the practice of directly determining crops by state bodies has been abolished and transparent management of data through a digital platform has been established.
The practice of placing crops through digital platforms reduces the human factor and makes the decision-making process transparent. This creates conditions for producing products based on market demand.
Based on the Regulation “On the Procedure for Rational Placement of Agricultural Crops”, farms will independently place agricultural crops, and proposals for placing crops will be implemented without human intervention through the “CropAgro” AT.
Thirdly, a new system was introduced to ensure the freedom of farmers’ activities, and the system of state orders was reduced. That is, the principles of the free market in cotton and grain production were gradually expanded, and farmers were given the opportunity to independently choose a buyer.
State bodies, including local khokimiyats at all levels and law enforcement agencies shall be strictly prohibited from interfering in the conduct of agrotechnical measures in the cultivation of grain crops, the provision of material and technical resources, the processes of wheat sales, including the conclusion of contracts, the connection of farms to certain enterprises engaged in the preparation and processing of grain, and internal transportation between the regions of the republic.
According to Article 22 of the Law “On Farming”, farmers currently have the opportunity to conclude contracts through stock exchanges, freely sell products and independently manage their income. Wherein local officials interfere in the activities of farmers, threaten or insult them, a fine of twenty to forty times the basic calculation amount is established according to Article 41 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility. At the same time, in order to financially support farms and create the necessary conditions, the Cabinet of Ministers, by Resolution No. 771 of December 6, 2025, established the allocation of a subsidy of one million soums for each ton of raw cotton sold through stock exchanges starting from the 2025 harvest.
Currently, farmers have the opportunity to conclude contracts with any of the 15-20 operating clusters in each region. 15 cotton-textile clusters operate In Kashkadarya region alone. Farms operate by voluntarily agreeing with the clusters of their choice and concluding contracts on exchange trading (futures, forwards and spot).
Fourth, farmers have the opportunity to reduce their costs, increase their income by obtaining high yields.
Using new agrotechnology, cotton cultivation under Scheme 76 will be popularized next year, and cotton will be grown entirely under this scheme on 891 thousand hectares. The areas under which foreign varieties resistant to bollworm, herbicide, salt and drought will be planted will be doubled, reaching 500 thousand hectares.
300 thousand hectares of seeds will be planted based on the “Xinjiang experience”. 2 trillion 600 billion soums of preferential loans will be allocated to introduce drip irrigation technology in the fields for this measure. Farmers who grow cotton from their own funds will be given 250 billion soums to subsidize up to 10 percent of the harvest.
At the same time, farmers using half of the credit limit for cotton cultivation will also be given a subsidy of up to 5 percent of the harvest.
In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PF-183 dated October 13, 2025 and Resolution No. PP-302 dated October 14, 2025, water accounting will now be completely electronic based on a new approach. The amount of water used is accurately calculated through the “Water Accounting” information platform and communicated to consumers electronically.
Water-saving technologies have been introduced on 66% of irrigated arable land across the republic, covering a total area of 2.8 million hectares. Laser leveling has ensured uniform distribution of water on agricultural lands, and a 15–20% increase in crop yield was observed during the growing season. This agrotechnology is considered by farmers as one of the most effective innovations.
Rational use of water resources has become one of the most important tasks of agriculture today. In particular, 30-40% of the cost of water-saving equipment, 100% of the cost of electricity is covered by the state, which lead to further increasing the interest of farmers.
Fifth, farmers have been given the opportunity to unite for conducting their activities together. The newly adopted Law “On Agricultural Cooperatives” has created the opportunity for farmers to organize cooperatives and work together. Currently, more than a thousand agricultural cooperatives are operating in our country in various areas of agriculture. Cooperatives are becoming not only an economic but also a means of legal protection.
According to the new procedure, 92 agricultural cooperatives have been established in the republic in the field of cotton growing.
In 2025 alone, contracts were concluded between 72 cooperatives established by farmers and 765 farms through exchange trades, and they directly supplied 96 thousand tons of raw cotton to agricultural cooperatives.
In order to support and legally protect the activities of farmers and the cooperatives they have established, by Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PF-22 dated February 14, 2025, the Farmers’ Council of Uzbekistan was granted the right to file lawsuits in court in the interests of farmers, peasant farms and agricultural cooperatives without paying state duty, and to participate in any stage of court proceedings in the interests of farmers and agricultural cooperatives, as well as to submit complaints and applications in the appellate, cassation, and audit procedures along with lawsuits.
This positive practice of the state providing legal protection to farmers is not available in any other country in the world.
Farmers’ Councils were exempted from paying state fees when filing lawsuits in the interests of farmers in courts, saving farmers of 8.4 billion soums.
Sixth, under the new system, farmers are involved in political discussions on agricultural reforms, and a mechanism has been introduced to take their opinions and recommendations into account.
An increased participation of farmers in decision-making processes isa nother important innovation in agriculture.
Farmers are expressing their proposals and initiatives through open dialogues, public discussions, and digital platforms. This serves to bring legislation and sectoral decisions closer to reality.
This year, in cooperation with the Farmers’ Council of Uzbekistan, the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture, and deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, farmers in Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Jizzakh, and Bukhara regions were involved in political discussions on agricultural reforms.
A total of 156 proposals were received from farmers during the discussions, and draft regulatory documents are being developed to address them. Only 167 farmers from the “Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen” were elected as deputies by the people to the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan and are actively participating in improving legislation.
Draft regulatory legal acts concerning the interests of farmers and entrepreneurs are being subject to public discussion by the developer through the regulation.gov.uz portal.
The Farmers’ Council of Uzbekistan conducted legal expertise on 64 draft regulatory legal acts in 2024, 140 in 2025, and 53 in the previous period of 2026 through the https://loyiha.adliya.uz/portal on the rights and legitimate interests of farmers.
An open online dialogue system with farmers has been launched on the social networks of the Farmers’ Council of Uzbekistan in the “Fermer minbari” https://t.me/fermerminbar) telegram group and the “Fermer minbari” (https://t.me/fermerminbar) telegram channel. Through the “Fermer minbari” (https://t.me/minbarfermer) telegram group in 2025 alone, more than 200 appeals, proposals and recommendations were received and positively resolved
Another novelty is that the Farmers’ Council of Uzbekistan has developed a telegram bot “Fermer AI”, which works on the basis of artificial intelligence and provides prompt advice to farmers in order to support their activities and create favorable conditions.
This brings the use of digital technologies in the sector to a new level. In particular, the capabilities of artificial intelligence are expanding in providing prompt advice to farmers, identifying diseases, assessing crop condition, and making agrotechnical decisions. This is shaping the image of a modern farmer.
The reforms being implemented in agriculture are taking the sector to a new level.
Today’s farmer is a modern entrepreneur who manages the land, understands the market, uses technology and is able to protect his interests.
The main goal of the new system remains as single goal – to ensure the farmer’s income, food security and economic stability of the country.
Deputy Chairman of the Farmers’ Council of Uzbekistan
Zafar Mustafakulov