Uzbekistan has officially endorsed a new agrifood investment roadmap aimed at accelerating the transition toward climate-smart agriculture and strengthening the resilience of its food systems. The initiative marks a shift from national climate commitments to concrete, investment-ready projects designed to modernize the country’s agricultural sector.
Developed with support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the roadmap translates Uzbekistan’s climate commitments under its updated nationally determined contributions into a structured pipeline of investment opportunities aligned with national development priorities.
Agriculture plays a central role in Uzbekistan’s economy but is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and highly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as water scarcity, rising temperatures, and land degradation. The roadmap targets these challenges by promoting climate-smart irrigation, crop diversification, and more efficient fertilizer use, alongside low-carbon greenhouse heating and improved livestock management practices.
The plan identifies around €1.3 billion in priority investments through 2030. These investments are expected to reduce emissions by approximately 1 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually, increase agricultural output by about €250 million per year, and improve water productivity by up to 40 percent. Key interventions will focus on cotton and wheat production areas and greenhouse systems across the country.
The roadmap also emphasizes institutional coordination and private sector participation in financing climate-smart agriculture. It was developed through collaboration between national institutions, financial organizations, development partners, and industry stakeholders to ensure alignment with Uzbekistan’s broader agricultural and climate strategies.
As part of the implementation framework, a new platform called ANORA (Agrifood Investment Opportunities for Resilient Agriculture) will be established to mobilize public and private financing and scale up investment in sustainable agriculture. The platform was launched at the Tashkent Investment Forum and is expected to play a key role in attracting climate finance.
Officials from FAO and EBRD highlighted that the roadmap represents a significant step toward transforming Uzbekistan’s agrifood sector into a more productive, climate-resilient, and investment-driven system, while supporting broader regional efforts to align agriculture with global climate goals.
