Central Asia stands at the brink of transformative change in agriculture and rural development, shaped by both persistent challenges and emerging opportunities. The region faces significant pressures from land degradation, water scarcity, and climate variability, all of which pose risks to long-term agricultural productivity and food security. At the same time, ongoing investments in modern technologies, institutional reforms, and market-oriented approaches are transforming agricultural sector, creating new pathways for sustainability, resilience and economic growth. Understanding how these dynamics interact and identifying strategies for sustainable agricultural transformation are crucial to ensuring long-term agricultural growth and rural prosperity.

The project UzFarmBarometer is a research initiative designed to explore the motivations and constraints behind farmers' decisions to adopt sustainable agricultural practices (SAP). Despite the high expectations associated with sustainable agricultural practices, in many areas around the world, including Uzbekistan, their adoption rate of is still low. Behavioral economists have identified several factors hampering the general tendency of farmers to try out new practices. Considering them can enrich research outcomes and contribute to more realistic and better-understood farmers’ decision-making.

About the Project

The project’s overall research objective is to develop a clear understanding of the decision-making processes and choices of sustainable agricultural practices among Uzbekistan’s farmers.

WE AIM: To construct a nationally representative and high- quality farm survey and to bring together stakeholders to set up a permanent data collection infrastructure. The theories, methods, and data of the project will be offered to doctoral researchers and analysts in Uzbekistan through a series of capacity building seminars.

JOINT INITIATIVE: The project is a part of the joint initiative between Germany and Uzbekistan for scientific collaboration and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Institution: Westminster International University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Email: bmirkasimov@wiut.uz

Dr. Bakhrom Mirkasimov

Deputy Rector on Research and Innovation of Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT), Project Leader

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Research scholar at WIUT, holding degrees in economics from Humboldt University Berlin, Vanderbilt University, and Boise State University. He has publications in academic journals like the Journal of Comparative Economics and Demography. He collaborates with international research institutes such as CERGE-EI, Duke University, Leibniz University Hannover, and the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO). Previously, he also served as a consultant to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, International Labour Organization and International Food Policy Research Institute.

Institution: Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO)

Email: djanibekov@iamo.de

Dr. Nodir Djanibekov

Research Associate and Deputy Head of Department Agricultural Policy, Project Coordinator

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Senior researcher at IAMO, specializing in agricultural policy and rural development in Central Asia. His research focuses on how policies, institutions, and behavioral dynamics influence farmers’ land and water use decisions, particularly in irrigated regions. He holds a PhD from the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn. At IAMO, he leads the Rural Community Resilience (CARe) research group, and serves as a contact person for the Central Asia International Research Group.

Institution: Westminster International University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Email: nrashitova@wiut.uz

Dr. Nilufar Rashitova

Associate Dean of Graduate School, Project Manager

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Associate Dean at Westminster International University in Tashkent, actively engaged in projects addressing sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and agricultural innovation in Uzbekistan. Her educational background is diverse, including degrees in management, statistics and econometrics, and data management. Her research explores economic and institutional factors influencing agrifood systems, with an emphasis on crop diversification and hidden costs in major value chains. She has also co-authored studies and textbooks on statistics, national accounting, and structural reform, with publications in both local and international journals.

Institution: Westminster International University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Email: m.bilal@wiut.uz

Dr. Muhammad Bilal

Senior Lecturer, Project Associate

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Senior lecturer at the School of Business & Economics, Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT), Uzbekistan. He holds a PhD from the Georg-August University of Göttingen, Germany. His research interests include food systems, sustainable development, rural development, agricultural technologies, and smallholders. Currently at WIUT, supervising a PhD thesis titled “Econometric Analysis of Sustainable Agriculture Practices in Uzbekistan: The Case of the Samarkand Region”.

Institution: UNDP Uzbekistan

Email: pishenbay.umirbekov@undp.org

Pishenbay Umirbekov

PhD student within Project

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Programme Analyst on Resilience Building at the UNDP Country Office in Uzbekistan and a part-time PhD researcher at WIUT. He holds degrees in Finance and Business from the Tashkent Institute of Finance, the Asian Institute of Technology, and the University of Huddersfield. His expertise spans economic theory, financial management, climate change finance, SDGs, and agricultural economics. He actively contributes to the UzFarmBarometer project voluntarily, bringing deep knowledge in climate-resilient agriculture and rural development. His research and publications focus on agricultural value chains, climate change mitigation, and inclusive income-generation strategies.

Institution: Westminster International University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Email: s.rajabova@wiut.uz

Svetlana Razhabova

Research Assistant, Master's student within Project

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Early career researcher contributing to the UzFarmBarometer project. Her academic background and research interests focus on development in economics, with a particular focus on agriculture and sustainability. Her research and publications are in agricultural value chains, crop diversification, climate change and mobility nexus, water scarcity, and rural development in Central Asia.

Research & Publications

Journal articles

Tadjiev, A., Djanibekov, N., Soviadan, M.K., Herzfeld, T. (2025) Participation in informal cooperation in water management and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices: Empirical evidence from Uzbekistan. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. (in print).

Shamsieva, M. & Bilal, M. (2025). Cereal crops yield and climate change: a case study. International Journal of Global Warming.

Bilal, M., Tadjiev, A. &Djanibekov, N. (2024). The adoption of cotton combine services and farm technical efficiency: Evidence from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-06-2024-0207.

Kurbanov, Z., Tadjiev, A., Djanibekov, N., Govind, A., Akramkhanov, A. (2024) Farmers’ participation in messenger-based social groups and its effects on performance in irrigated areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Agribusiness. https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21995.

Policy Briefs

Bilal, M., Djanibekov, N., Tadjiev, A. (2025): Mechanizing cotton harvesting in Uzbekistan. CPRO Policy Brief 2025-01. https://doi.org/10.70735/VCMX2844

Djanibekov, N., Takeshima, H., Mirkasimov, B., Akramov, K. (2025): Enhancing agricultural resilience in Uzbekistan through farmers’ decision-making autonomy. CPRO Policy Brief 2025-01/2. https://doi.org/10.70735/DUTV1060

News / Events / Deliverables

Contact Us

Nilufar Rashitova

Associate Dean of Graduate School

Email: nrashitova@wiut.uz

Contact: +998 (71) 238-74-15