Ihtiyor Bobojonov

Options and constraints for crop diversification: a case study in sustainable agriculture in Uzbekistan

This article describes various opportunities but also constraints to greater crop diversification, and the impact on local sustainability in the Khorezm province of Uzbekistan in the Aral Sea basin. At present, approximately 70% of the area in this study region is sown to irrigated cotton and winter wheat under the so-called state mandate. We present evidence of the benefits of moving away from this approach toward more diversified farming with an increasing area of alternative crops in the selected region. We report on a series of studies that included a) crop suitability screening based on secondary data, b) joint farmer experiments, and c) a mathematical simulation model with the overarching objective to assess potential benefits and constraints for crop diversification. The findings of this long-term, multiyear, and multidisciplinary approach show that greater crop diversity can increase water use efficiency, and secure farm income in dryland areas prone to water scarcity and soil salinity. In addition, the findings of the simulation model confirmed that crop diversification could secure income of downstream farmers during the climate-driven decline in water availability. Overall, the findings indicate that greater crop diversity and improved access to markets can lead to a sustainable development path in the region.

Index-based insurance for climate risk management and rural development in Syria

Improving the adaptive capacity of rural producers to climate and weather risks may become an urgent issue in the early stages of political stabilization in Syria. Therefore, this study analyses the agro-ecological, economic and social benefits of – and the institutional challenges to – establishing index-based insurance markets to catalyse rural development in Syria. The paper examines the potential of three index insurance schemes for minimizing risk: (1) a statistical index, (2) an index based on agro-meteorological approach and (3) a remote sensing-based index. It also discusses how index-based insurance markets contribute to rural development in scenarios of increasing climate risks. The study identifies that all three insurance schemes have a very high potential to cope with increasing climate risk. Insurance schemes designed according to these indexes performed very well in terms of covering revenue losses in most of the extreme drought years observed in the country. Farmers purchasing an insurance contract may have better access to credit and find it easier to invest in agricultural production and improve productivity. Because such alternative index-based insurance programmes are low cost, they are more affordable for poor farmers and thus can potentially make an excellent contribution to economic growth in rural areas.

Future Perspectives on Regional and International Food Security: Emerging Players in the Region: Uzbekistan

In the light of a rising world population, the Eurasian wheat belt is one of the regions that could mobilise its agricultural production capacity to help meet the increasing demand for food and animal feed. The Republic of Uzbekistan is thus seen as one of the emerging players in the field, and has turned from a wheat importer into an exporting country after the independence. Grounded on a thorough analysis of post-1991 data and available literature on wheat prices, imports and export volumes, and agricultural policies, this chapter aims to illustrate trends in wheat production and consumption, thus outlining the potential for further increases in wheat production, corresponding scenarios for export dynamics and the role of policy in this regard. The chapter suggests that Uzbekistan has the potential to emerge as an important supplier of (low-quality) wheat to neighbouring countries. However, it is difficult to assess potential export increases, because the state procurement mechanism has a strong role and intervenes in the supply chains. Improving the existing procurement mechanisms and introducing market-based incentives could help to overcome remaining production inefficiencies, thus ensuring that wheat supply chains are sustainable and that excess production is available for export.

Yield and water use efficiency of potato varieties under different soil-moisture stress conditions in the Fergana Valley of Central Asia

ABSTRACT Deficit irrigation could be considered as one potential option to improve water productivity and obtain some level of assured income under water scarcity and drought conditions in Central Asia. This article investigates water productivity and economic returns to two varieties of potato crop under four different soil-moisture regimes in Uzbekistan. Results suggest that deficit irrigation may not be considered as an option to improve water productivity of potato crop, particularly when the deficit is high. However, deficit irrigation options could be still considered as a viable option to maintain food security and some assured farm income even under extreme drought conditions.

Farmers’ export market participation decisions in transition economies: a comparative study between Armenia and Uzbekistan

ABSTRACT The Russian import ban on Western food products has stimulated a discussion about whether and how countries in Central Asia and Caucasus might benefit from this political decision by expanding their agrifood exports to Russia. Given this background, our study compares farmers’ willingness to participate in export markets in Armenia and Uzbekistan. Discussions are based on the analysis of surveys of 400 farmers from each country conducted in the spring of 2015. The results show that farmers already participating in local markets have a higher motivation to engage in the production of exportable commodities when a sudden export opportunity emerges. Beyond this general finding, the relative importance of farm and infrastructure characteristics were identified under different commercialization levels. Although both types of factors have been identified as important determinants in the existing literature, our analysis provides further evidence. We demonstrate that variables related to farm characteristics play a rather crucial role in more subsistence-oriented small-scale farming systems as found in the case of Armenia. In contrast, infrastructure may become more important than farm endowments in more commercially oriented farming systems such as observed in Uzbekistan.