Horticultural Support Project

This project targets districts in the region of Surkhandarya with a comparative advantage and potential for modern horticulture. Subject to performance, it may subsequently be scaled up in similar districts in other parts of Uzbekistan, particularly the adjacent region of Kashkadarya.

The project aims to reach 11,800 households of all ethnicities, including small-scale, private-sector, actual or potential horticulture producers; small-scale horticultural market service providers; horticulture-related agrofirms; and unemployed rural people.

The development objective of the project is to increase the incomes and assets of smallholder farmers, processors and service providers in the horticultural subsector. To achieve this, it will support modern, efficient farming techniques, improved access to domestic and international markets, and investments in productive assets for horticulture.

Specifically, the project focuses on:

• Upgrading nurseries through the mechanism of a central nursery to import, test and propagate modern varieties and root stock for sale in the horticultural value chain
• Modernizing 10 to 15 private agrofirms in the horticultural production and processing sector
• Providing small-scale farmers with affordable investment finance, technical assistance and training.

The project will support investments in these areas through the establishment of rural refinancing facilities and medium- to long-term financing for agrofirms by selected commercial banks. In addition, it seeks to improve rural infrastructure, notably with a more advanced irrigation network.