A Complete description of Wheat Production in Uzbekistan – now launched!
With financial support from the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (CRP-Wheat), ICARDA’s researchers have launched a book titled “Political Economy of the Wheat Sector in Uzbekistan: Seed Systems, Varietal Adoption, and Impacts.” The seven-chapter book comprehensively compiles several studies conducted on different aspects of the wheat sector in Uzbekistan, from variety development and seed marketing to varietal adoption and their impacts. It also considers socio-economic and cultural factors in a country where wheat symbolizes independence, sovereignty, food security, and self-reliance. Wheat also represents a high economic asset, making wheat the second most important crop after cotton.
The book’s early chapters lay out the historical developments of the wheat sector, including seed policy and regulatory frameworks, and present a description of the procedures and status of seed production. The book elaborates on seed quality assurance and certification, describing the adoption of improved wheat varieties, and estimating their impacts and annual quantities of wheat seed use. The book ends with a bird’s-eye view of the whole wheat sector in Uzbekistan by synthesizing and establishing links between the achievements, limitations, challenges, and opportunities documented in each of the preceding six chapters, and making recommendations for the way forward.
This book is the first of its kind in the country. ICARDA scientists expect it to be the “go-to” reference for wheat production and seed systems in Uzbekistan and a comprehensive resource for years to come as it compiles several influential studies conducted on critical aspects of the wheat sector in Uzbekistan. The book will also be an essential resource for policymakers, researchers, farmers, private and public seed companies, and development partners to find critical evidence-based data that can inform actions to overcome significant challenges and create a conducive environment for faster and more sustainable development of the wheat sector in Uzbekistan.
This book is the third in its series preceding two explored Morocco and Turkey.
Book authors:
Yigezu A. Yigezu Principal Agricultural Economist, Cairo, Egypt
Zewdie Bishaw Research Team Leader - Seed Systems, International Nurseries, and Seed Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Abdoul Aziz Niane Regional Coordinator Arabian Peninsula Regional Program, Dubai, UAE
Aziz Nurbekov Agronomist, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
