All agricultural land to be leased by 2027

By 2027, all land used for agriculture in Uzbekistan will be leased. This was announced on September 9 during a presentation on the effective use of land resources in agriculture, reviewed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

It was reported that over the past five years, a new land accounting system has been established. To date, 42 million hectares of the country’s approximately 45 million hectares of land, or 94 percent, and 88.4 percent of the more than 26 million hectares designated for agriculture have been state-registered.

During the presentation, the President emphasized the need to maintain separate records of vacant land previously used by citizens and organizations that has been returned to district governments. Instructions were given to create an automated system to auction such land in a short time, without human intervention.

“Work has begun on transforming land lease rights into market assets in agriculture, and the institutions of re-lease and secondary lease have been introduced for land,” the report stated.

It was noted that leased land may now be partially subleased, allowing the original tenant to retain part of the land while transferring the remainder to another lessee. Previously, such land had to be returned to the state and auctioned again.

Since 2021, agricultural land has been allocated exclusively on a lease basis. The meeting stressed that by January 1, 2027, all agricultural land in the country will be transferred to lease arrangements.

In addition, it is now permitted to construct facilities serving agricultural land, including lightweight refrigerated warehouses, sorting and packaging facilities, water-saving technologies, field sheds, and technical parks.

To do this, a land development project must first be prepared and approved. Once approved, this project will serve as an official document confirming land rights when applying for construction permits.

According to the report, this innovation creates new opportunities for farmers: gardeners will be able to build fruit storage facilities on their plots, while livestock breeders will be allowed to construct barns and feed storage facilities on their pastures.

“The head of state gave instructions on further developing lease relations in agriculture, protecting the rights and interests of tenants, and expanding the introduction of market relations in the sector,” the report said.

At the conclusion of the presentation, a decree was signed on the implementation of these measures, with appropriate amendments to subordinate legislation to follow.

It is worth noting that earlier, on September 4, the President signed a decree introducing a simplified procedure for calculating value added tax (VAT) in the agricultural sector.