VZCZCXRO8881
PP RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHNT #1255/01 3040720
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300720Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0505
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2953
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 4666
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0631
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0964
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0925
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1612
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1131
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2806
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001255 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB/ESC 
STATE FOR OES: PHUDAK, NFITE 
AMEMBASSY ANKARA FOR AG COUNSELOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON SENV SOCI EAID PINR UZ
 
SUBJECT:  UZBEKISTAN:  A PRIVATE CONSULTANT'S VIEWS 
ON AGRICULTURE 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The head of a private Uzbek 
consulting firm gave us his views on the current 
state of agriculture and water resource management 
in Uzbekistan.  Confirming what we have heard from 
other sources, he told us that Uzbek farmers have 
little choice in choosing what to grow, with the 
government dictating orders for cotton and wheat 
production.  The government provides all the inputs 
on credit and then buys the harvest at a reduced 
price, leaving farmers with very little after paying 
off their debt.  Despite this bleak picture, an 
October 20 presidential decree that will increase 
the land used for growing grain by 50,000 hectares 
and increase the production of food crops at the 
expense of cotton gives hope that the lot of the 
Uzbek farmer may improve.  END SUMMARY. 
WATER AND AGRICULTURE:  A PRIVATE CONSULTANT'S VIEW 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) In early October the Regional Environmental 
Officer (REO) met in Tashkent with Azim Nazarov, a 
U.S.-trained agricultural engineer who heads NBT (no 
expansion), a private consulting firm specializing 
in agriculture, water resource management, and 
environmental protection issues.  Founded in 2007, 
NBT works primarily on projects funded by 
international financing institutions including the 
World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and USAID. 
At present NBT is working with ADB on a water 
resources management project. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Nazarov said Uzbekistan allows farmers to 
lease land up to 99 years and to pass on this lease 
to their children.  The government still owns the 
land, however, and farmers have limited discretion 
about what they can grow.  The government still 
submits state orders to local farmers with the 
result that, on average, 50 percent of the total 
annual crop is dedicated to cotton and wheat. 
Nazarov continued that the government provides all 
the inputs (e.g., seed, fertilizer, water, etc.) on 
credit to the farmers, who must pay it back at 
harvest time.  The government then buys the harvest 
at a reduced price, leaving farmers with very little 
left after paying off their debt.  The government 
purchases the cotton at 80 cents per kilogram (800 
USD per metric ton) and, after processing it, sells 
it on the world market at 1200 USD per metric ton. 
The government returns the cotton gin biomass back 
to the farmers, who use it as fuel in winter. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Nazarov noted that Uzbekistan is the 
world's fifth largest producer and the second 
largest exporter of cotton.  He added that 
Uzbekistan will not give up cotton production 
because the cotton revenues support many other 
sectors of the economy.  Furthermore, the land and 
irrigation system is "hardwired" for cotton. 
Possible substitute crops are fruits, vegetables, 
and sugar beets, but there is no infrastructure for 
large-scale processing of these alternative crops. 
Notably, fruit and vegetable crops are not governed 
by any state structure; farmers themselves can 
decide what to grow and to whom to sell their 
harvest.  Nazarov said that this year farmers were 
earning more from the sale of wheat than cotton 
because the price of wheat has increased 
substantially. 
 
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION NETWORK 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Nazarov supports setting up agricultural 
extension facilities in Uzbekistan similar to those 
that are part of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Cooperative Extension System.  As in 
the U.S., the purpose of such facilities would be to 
 
TASHKENT 00001255  002 OF 002 
 
 
provide information to agricultural producers, small 
business owners, consumers, and others in rural 
areas and, thereby, increase crop productivity. 
(NOTE: Agricultural extensions have been set up in 
Africa and Asia.  END NOTE.).  Nazarov is looking 
for potential partners among international 
organizations that can help set up an extension 
system.  He complained that a number of donors had 
set up demonstration sites, including training, but 
that these projects had never progressed beyond the 
demonstration phase. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Although Nazarov is undoubtedly correct 
that cotton will remain at the center of Uzbek 
agriculture for some years to come, the GOU is 
beginning to show flexibility.  Most notably, on 
October 20 President Karimov signed a decree that 
will reduce the land used for cotton cultivation and 
increase the grain sowing lands by almost 50,000 
hectares.  The decree also calls for a significant 
increase in the production of vegetables, oil, and 
other food crops.  This is good news for Uzbek 
farmers and could signal an eventual move away from 
a cotton monoculture. 
 
NORLAND