The authorities of Uzbekistan have announced plans to allocate $463 million for the development of the livestock sector. The funds will be directed towards restoring idle enterprises, increasing meat and milk production, importing breeding cattle, and introducing digital technologies into the industry.
The proposals were presented to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. During the presentation, it was noted that the country's annual meat demand has reached 2.15 million tons, while production stands at approximately 1.6 million tons. To bridge this gap, a livestock development program for 2026-2028 has been developed, aiming to produce an additional 190,000 tons of meat.
A key focus will be the restoration of 103 livestock enterprises. Plans include restructuring their debts or providing installment plans for up to ten years, allocating land for fodder cultivation, and supplying farms with breeding cattle.
Additionally, in 13 specialized districts, the efficiency of using 75,000 hectares of fodder land will be improved, small livestock projects will be financed, and new milk collection and feed sales points will be opened. In private subsidiary farms, 11,000 lightweight cowsheds will be built to house 421,000 heads of cattle.
Another component of the program involves the implementation of 802 investment projects worth a total of 3 trillion soums. These projects are expected to create conditions for keeping over 68,000 heads of cattle and 186,000 sheep and goats, enabling an additional annual production of 20,000 tons of meat and 120,000 tons of milk.
To increase livestock numbers, Uzbekistan intends to import 150,000 sheep from Mongolia, 100,000 heads of breeding cattle from China and European countries, as well as 2,000 heads from Belarus. This is expected to yield an additional 44,000 tons of meat per year.
As part of the modernization efforts, the digital platform Smart Fermer was introduced. It allows farmers to identify animals, call veterinarians, receive recommendations on feeding and artificial insemination, apply for subsidies, and access AI-based consultations.
Special attention is being paid to poultry farming. By 2028, projects worth $432 million are planned, which will enable an additional production of 100,000 tons of poultry meat, increase compound feed production capacity to 3.3 million tons, and expand the use of modern slaughter systems.
Following the presentation, the president instructed to analyze the economic efficiency of all projects, ensure the targeted use of allocated funds, and implement digital accounting and monitoring systems.
Earlier, it was reported that the authorities of Uzbekistan would extend until the end of the year the benefits for air transportation of meat, which were introduced in the spring to curb rising prices on the domestic market.
Source: podrobno.uz