Horticulture Development Project

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The objectives of the Horticulture Development Project for Uzbekistan are to: (a) enhance the competitiveness of industries, such as agroprocessing; and (b) diversify the economy and thereby reduce its reliance on a few commodity exports, such as cotton. The project will contribute to poverty reduction in the country by assisting horticulture farmers, many of whom are small and comprise the poorest, to increase their farm productivity and incomes, and thereby fostering greater and better rural jobs. The project comprises three components. The first component, Agricultural Support Services, will: (a) strengthen the capacity of participating research institutes and plant protection services to provide a demand driven, participative technology transfer that will help the farmers to respond to the emerging market opportunities; (b) enhance the capacity of farmers to improve quality and productivity of their product, as well as to identify and respond to market opportunities both domestically and in export markets; (c) improve the country's food safety management system, as well as ensure their regulatory harmonization with international food safety requirements. The second component, Access to Credit, includes the following activities: (a) provision through selected Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) of investment and working capital sub-loans and lease financings to beneficiaries; and (b) provision of technical assistance and training to PFIs to increase their capacity in managing a range of innovatively structured finance products that support the development of value chains. Lastly, the third component, Project Management, includes the provision of goods, technical assistance and training to the Rural Restructuring Agency for the implementation of the project (including the areas of financial management, procurement, disbursement, monitoring and evaluation) and financing of incremental operating costs.