The World Bank
Agriculture Modernization Project (P158372)
Page 51 of 70
institutional structure, and guidelines defining roles, responsibilities, accountability, financing, and functional processes.
The establishment and/or strengthening of advisory and
extension centers at central, regional, and local levels will
involve: (i) development of training materials and training of trainers in the extension centers,
especially on climate
adaptation and mitigation approaches; (ii) construction of new, renovation/rehabilitation (of existing) and refurbishment
(of both new and existing) infrastructure
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, including training halls, audiovisual units, libraries and class rooms; and (iii)
procurement of equipment, digital tools, farm machinery, vehicles, and demonstration materials, including inputs, field
equipment, and audio-visual materials. Some of the advisory and extension centers could be established in partnership
with private sector as stated in the
Agricultural Strategy. AMP will engage with GIZ, USAID, FAO, OBSE, UNESCO, and
UNDP to develop final implementation arrangements and models of service delivery, which will be described in POM.
22.
Service provision: Service provision will focus on transfer of tested,
low-cost, and scalable CSA technologies
generated by sub-components 1.1-1.3 and from other sources to farmers. In doing so, the sub-component will cover
costs associated with demonstrations of technologies both at advisory and extension centers and on farmers’ plots,
including the financing of operating costs and the procurement of seeds, fertilizer, farm machinery and other inputs,
training, workshops, and experience sharing (exchange) visits. Training activities will focus on bridging knowledge and
skill gaps for farmers and staff of the advisory and extension centers. The sub-component will also finance servers and
computers to ensure internet connectivity to enable extension services to access knowledge database, agro-
meteorological information and data, and develop digital solutions for extension delivery and increasing farmer outreach.
23.
Another service of the advisory and
extension centers will be to support establishment and/or strengthening of
farm cooperatives that are being established in Uzbekistan. Agricultural cooperation is a new development, which has
only started in early 2019 after the issuance of the Resolution of the President of Uzbekistan
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. More than 45 horticulture
farm cooperatives, with membership of small
dehkan and larger farmers, were already established at the time of project
appraisal, but their management and business capacity remain low. Most partnerships/clusters between agribusinesses
and farmers remain informal. AMP will invest in capacity building of farm cooperatives (e.g.
business coaching,
management, accounting, and CSA
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) and help productive partnerships sustain a long-term collaboration between
agribusinesses and farmers.
24.
Intensive Orchard Pilots: Uzbekistan has huge natural and competitive advantages in production of orchard fruits.
These operations typically generate very high returns. Also, being highly labor intensive they create a significant number
of durable and relatively well-paid jobs. However, this segment is severely under-developed
due to a set of deep
challenges. Orchard plantations are long-gestation investments, typically requiring long-term (5-10 years) finance/loans;
however, the longest-term loans currently available to farmers are for 1-2 years, and that too backed by non-land
collaterals. Orchard farming also require specialized agronomic inputs and crop husbandry. Unless it is organized
collectively or at a sufficient scale, these skills are not easily available to small farmers working on their own. Also, since
these target higher-value segments and dynamic export markets, they require significant commercial and management
skills. The GoU has declared an ambitious plan to rapidly develop the orchard farm segment, targeting 37,000 ha by 2021.
25.
This sub-component will assist in this vital transformation by piloting intensive orchard farms on about 3,000 ha,
with tentative budget of US$65 million. The aim is to establish demonstration/extension pilots for intensive orchards in
selected districts specialized
in horticulture production, which will help,
inter alia, with collective organization of an
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Investments in climate proof and energy efficient infrastructure will be pursued.
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Resolution of President of Uzbekistan No. PP-4239 “
About Measures to Develop Agricultural Cooperation in Horticulture Sector,” March 14, 2019.
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Specific topics can include improving farmers’ skills in countering the increased incidence of pests, improved training for the selection of pest-
resistant and/ or heat-stress-tolerant seed and crop varieties and providing information on improving on-farm water use efficiency. Topics come
from stakeholder consultations undertaken in preparation of: Sutton, W.
et al. 2013.
Reducing the Vulnerability of Uzbekistan’s Agricultural Systems
to Climate Change: Impact Assessment and Adaptation Options. Washington, DC: World Bank.