04.12.2024

On December 4, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on measures to ensure food security, increase investment and reduce poverty in Kashkadarya region.

Kashkadarya has high potential in all leading spheres, such as industry, energy, agriculture, and tourism. Since the beginning of the year, $2 billion dollars of investments have been utilized in the region. Employment of 565 thousand people has been provided, 90 thousand people have been lifted out of poverty. It is expected that by the end of the year the gross regional product will grow by more than 6 percent, and exports will reach $555 million.

If the region's potential is fully utilized, the results will be much more substantial. The meeting considered additional opportunities and new projects in this area.

Above all, the issue of food security will be a priority. From next year Kashkadarya will switch to full self-sufficiency in potatoes, fruits, poultry meat and eggs. In this direction, 16 large projects have been developed with participation of foreign investors.

For example, a modern garden of 300 hectares will be created in Guzar, Kamashin and Shakhrisabz districts. Here additional 4 thousand tons of fruit will be grown per year and 600 jobs will be created. Organic cultivation of melons and vegetables will be expanded in Kukdala, Chirakchi, Shakhrisabz, Kasan and Nishan districts. Production of watermelon concentrate, blast freezing and freeze drying will be established.

The region pays particular attention to the development of livestock breeding. 62 thousand heads of sheep and about 10 thousand heads of cattle will be imported from the countries of the region and Europe, to be bred on the basis of cooperation with the population and livestock farms. A livestock cluster for 1 thousand heads and a poultry farm for 1 million heads will be created in Karshi and Kamashi.

In order to increase the share of finished products in the cotton sector, 5 textile enterprises will be launched worth $233 million. As a result, the fabric production capacity will increase by 51 percent.

Tourism around the villages of Miraki in Shakhrisabz and Maydanak in Kamashi, Achinkul and Sechankul in Mirishkor district is developing dynamically. It is planned to invest $300 million dollars in such facilities, create more than 200 guest houses and a thousand retail outlets. They will employ 5 thousand people.

Entrepreneurs propose to produce finished products on the basis of 147 non-metallic deposits of the region. They will invest $209 million dollars in this, the deposits will be gradually put up for auction.

In accordance with the decree of the President, from November 1 of this year, the program “From Poverty to Prosperity” was launched in our country. Six large enterprises of Kashkadarya province contributed to this noble cause and took the initiative to lift more than 10 thousand citizens out of poverty next year. In addition, it is planned to launch 86 driver projects and 33 thousand micro projects with the participation of banks, which will provide income to 70 thousand more people. Owing to this, the poverty rate in the region will decrease from the current 8.6 to 6.5 percent.

At the meeting, the khokim of Kashkadarya region presented his plans. In particular, next year it is planned to attract $3.5 billion of investments, increase exports to $1 billion, and create 300 thousand jobs.

The Head of State noted that today's indicators do not correspond to the region's capabilities and gave instructions to improve performance. The task has been set to develop additional projects worth $300 million in industry, agriculture and services together with the initiators.