The Uzbek authorities plan to lease 100,000 hectares of land for 49 years within the framework of this management model. It is also envisaged to sell some land plots by auction for industrial plantations.
In Uzbekistan, agricultural land is exclusively owned by the state and can be leased to farmers (dekhkans). Full-fledged privatization was until recently possible only in the case of non-agricultural land.
The new system of land distribution, introduced in 2025 in test mode, has already shown positive results. Unlike the standard (at that time) practice of granting land for 30 years, in the framework of this experiment, plots of land began to be allocated on lease for 49 years. The lands were allocated in lots from 3 to 50 hectares. Last year, 20 thousand hectares were leased under the new model.
The project will be accompanied by the introduction of a system for assessing the efficiency of land use by each lessee. In particular, artificial intelligence algorithms will analyze which crops are most suitable for a particular plot, taking into account market conditions. On this basis, it is planned to develop a digital agro-map of Uzbekistan.
In addition, it will be ensured “protection of national interests when granting land plots for lease, preservation of irrigated lands and establishment of a strict order when transferring them into other categories.
