The country has a shortage of water and land, which leads to difficulties in the development of agriculture, and food is in short supply.
Since the collapse of the USSR, the population of Uzbekistan has grown by more than 60% — up to 34.5 million people.
Population growth is one side of the food shortage issue. The other is natural conditions.
The main part of the territory of Uzbekistan is mountainous terrain and deserts, and the available lands need constant reclamation.
But water is also in short supply: natural soil salinity has increased due to the widespread use of chemicals in cotton growing back in the Soviet period.
There are few land in neighboring Kazakhstan, so only Russia remains for rent.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia confirmed that it is not against concluding an agreement with the Uzbek side, and 23 regions of our country have expressed their desire to participate in this project.
Initially, the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan plans to lease 35 thousand hectares in order to establish the entire chain of interactions from land cultivation to export of crops to their country.
The next stage is to increase the area of leased land to 300-500 thousand hectares, and in general the country is ready to expand the agreement with the Russian side to 1 million hectares.
The parties assume that crops that meet Russian conditions — wheat, soybeans, oilseeds — will be grown on the leased land.
Commenting on the discussed agreements, analysts see both positive and negative sides.
On the one hand , the welfare of our neighboring countries is important for Russia. This is a matter of security and stability.
Uzbekistan is a densely populated country that borders on all the states of Central Asia, including Afghanistan.
The borders between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are as transparent as those between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
On the other hand , this agreement may result in the loss of an export channel for Russia. We could export grain to Uzbekistan, and now they will grow it themselves.
A similar situation was already in the Far East, when the Chinese rented land for growing soybeans.
And one more question under discussion: what kind of land will be leased out?
Yes, in Russia there are about 8-13 million hectares of land that can be used for agricultural use. But what kind of land: cultivated or uncultivated, we are talking about — the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia does not specify.
