Strategic challenges:
Approximately 16.4 million people (49.40/о of the total population) reside in rural areas of Uzbekistan (2018). The country also has а high birth rate (23.3 pro mil) and correspondingly, а labor force surplus in rural areas. People under 25 years represent 45.50/о of the population and over 550/о of the population is under 30. Public services in rural areas, as well as transportation and information and communication links, remain limited. The development of comprehensive strategies and programs, based upon а thorough assessment of regional needs and comparative advantages, is needed.
In the agrarian sector, supportive measures are often directed directly to farmers and other agricultural producers. Analysis of foreign countries indicates that rural economic development needs to bе explicitly linked to agricultural development to help ensure its success, as well as the inefficiency of reforms, based оn the provision of subsidies to address locally important socio-economic problems.
Rural development policies supported bу the Ministry of Economy tend to focus predominantly оn addressing regional economic imbalances in favor of large urban centers and support is only provided to а small segment of the rural population – farmers and other entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture while however, the countryside remains aloof.
