• Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on agriculture and food security Sponsored by the Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN. This study report provides the findings of research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Uzbekistan’s agriculture and rural sector in the year 2020. The study is part of a bigger COVID-19 impact assessment project by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in Central Asian and Caucasus Countries. The project has three objectives: 1)to assess the multiple impacts of the COVID-19 on agriculture, food security and rural community; 2) to review the policy responses taken by the Uzbekistan government to mitigate the effects of the crisis, 3) to provide contextual options to build the resilience of the agriculture and rural sector during post-COVID-19 recovery and against future shocks.
• Unlike the fear of the worst, Uzbekistan is one of the few countries in the world that bypassed the economic recession in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, confirmed by the IMF(2021). The fast policy measures backed by the Anti-crisis Fund (USD 1 billion or 2.2% of GDP) to support and sustain the economic activity served to cushion the shocks of an acute effect on the economy. The agriculture sector, with its increased exports of horticultural products, positively impacted the annual State revenues. The dramatic declines in employment and income bounced back quickly in the last quarter of2020 as the labour market (both self and wage employment) that began in May built further momentum (WB, 2020b).The study reveals that the 2020 pandemic had no major and lasting negative impact on the agriculture and food sector. Nevertheless, some valuable points and lessons can be drawn from the study. We also believe that there are points and lessons to pick from the primary data we collected from people interviewed under this project.

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