World Bank Document

Component 1: Enhancing Productivity-Supporting Agricultural Services (US$212.8 million). The objective of this 
component is to enhance the knowledge and human capital base to enable accelerated productive transformation of 
Uzbekistan agriculture to make it more productive, climate-resilient, diversified, and market-led. Overall, the component 
seeks to strengthen anchor public institutions through their institutional modernization and upgrading of functional 
capacities to make more relevant and impactful contributions and increasingly leverage the private sector. It also aims 
to establish systems and modalities to provide more relevant support to farmers across a range of technical needs.
12. 
Sub-component 1.1 Applied agricultural research and development (US$86.7 million). The objective of this sub-
component is to enhance the capacity of the national R&D system to develop new technologies as well as to adapt 
existing, on-the-shelf technologies to local social and environmental conditions and to changing circumstances over time. 
Investments under this sub-component will be aligned with the strategic priorities set in the Agricultural Strategy. They 
are planned in the context of new steps being taken by the GoU to revive public research institutions, including the 
provision of long-term budgetary financing. Expected focus areas for support include applied research on agro-ecological 
zone-specific CSA technologies, irrigation technologies that reduce energy use, development and scale up of SCA 
technologies, conservation and utilization of germplasm
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, increase in the supply of improved agricultural technologies, 
and facilitation of technology transfer. Unique genetic materials of Uzbekistan will be preserved for future generations, 
through modernization of the National Gene Bank, and for technology generation suitable for local agroecology. 
Improvement of agricultural technologies will pay attention to development of drought-resistant and climate-resilient 
crop varieties and climate-smart farming practices.
13. 
Institutions being supported under this component will undertake a comprehensive functional and human 
capacity assessment to be financed under this project. Subsequently, each will prepare a strategic action plan, which will 
detail specific goals and target of relevance, actions proposed and a monitoring and accountability framework. The 
strategic action plan will describe pragmatic measures to increasingly involve the private sector – which is currently weak 
or not present in these areas – as appropriate. Finally, the action plan will be accompanied by a human resource 
development plan, which will identify skills gaps and other learning needs, and steps to be taken to help the institutions 
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In accordance to NCD targets for adaptation. 

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