Financing and subsidy plans for the agricultural sector reviewed

The presentation began with an overview of the funds allocated to the sector this year and their effectiveness.

It was noted that 29 trillion soums were allocated for financing cotton and grain cultivation, purchasing agricultural machinery, and implementing water-saving technologies. Furthermore, 2,35 trillion soums in subsidies were directed to the sector.

Allocating subsidies equivalent to 10 percent of the cotton value to 3,430 farms and clusters enabled them to cultivate cotton on 151 thousand hectares using their own funds, resulting in savings of 1,9 trillion soums.

Moreover, farmers who fully repaid their loans for cotton cultivation this year were offered a reimbursement of 4 percentage points on their payments, which led to 9,002 farmers prepaying preferential loans worth 2,5 trillion soums.

A total of 34,2 trillion soums is planned for the cotton and grain harvest, subsidies and other expenses next year. Additionally, there are plans to attract an extra $200 million to purchase 800 cotton harvesting machines. In this regard, new support mechanisms were reviewed.

Particularly, it was proposed to allocate an additional 5 trillion soums in 2026 for agrotechnical measures, including expenses for wrap and pipes. It was noted that if farmers use up to 50 percent of their crop cultivation credit limit and receive a subsidy of 5 percent of the value of the sold cotton, the number of farmers growing crops with their own funds and partial loans will reach 4-4,5 thousand with savings amounting to 2,5-3 trillion soums.

Currently, when providing loans to farmers, the same interest rate is applied to both financially stable farms and those with poor payment discipline. In this context, to implement a “discipline for affordable credit” model, it is proposed to offer loans to farms with an “A” credit rating at a 2 percent reduced rate and to those in the “B” category at a 1 percent reduction, which will ease the credit burden for farmers with good payment discipline.

Moreover, it was proposed to provide a 10 percent subsidy to farmers who grow wheat at the expense of their own funds.

As the Head of our state noted, supporting farmers, strengthening their trust and economic interest is a key foundation for the development of agriculture, and therefore the support mechanisms in the sphere will be consistently expanded.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of Uzbekistan “On measures for the fundamental improvement of the state support system for the agricultural sector” dated November 22 this year, the Agricultural Payments Agency has been established under the Ministry of Agriculture to improve the mechanisms of state support for the sector.

During the presentation, the issue of the organization of the tasks assigned to the agency was reviewed. 

Currently, there are 52 types of subsidies in agriculture. Under the new system, these processes will be fundamentally simplified: the human factor and bureaucracy will be significantly reduced, application reviews will be fully digitized, and all procedures will be conducted through the “Agroportal”.

Therefore, the information systems of more than 10 ministries and agencies will be integrated into the “Agrosubsidy” information system.

In particular, subsidies worth 1,3 trillion soums allocated for 2026 will be provided proactively by government agencies without requiring applicant involvement, the remainder will be disbursed through a simplified procedure by eliminating certain stages of approval, issuance of opinions and document processing. As a result, the time required to grant subsidies will be significantly reduced.

The Head of state gave specific instructions to further improve financing mechanisms, ensure subsidies are targeted and delivered promptly, digitalize all processes, and create favorable conditions for farmers.