President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on providing agriculture with specialized machinery and the wide-scale introduction of digital technologies in the sector.

Today, the level of mechanization in agriculture stands at 81 percent. In particular, 1,756 cotton harvesters have been purchased in recent years, and mechanized cotton harvesting has reached 52 percent. During the last season, 2.1 million tons of cotton were harvested using machinery. As a result, manual labor has decreased 1.8 times over the past five years.

The next task is to increase the share of machine-harvested cotton to at least 70 percent. For this purpose, 800 cotton harvesters, as well as 6,000 seeders, tractors, and combine harvesters, are planned to be purchased in 2026. Overall, it is planned to acquire 10,000 units of machinery during the year and increase the total fleet to 292,000 units.

To provide farmers with new machinery on favorable leasing terms, it is planned to attract $400 million from international financial institutions. The equipment will be provided for up to 10 years at an interest rate of 18 percent in the national currency with a two-year grace period, while 8 percent of the credit rate will be compensated from the state budget.

It was emphasized that the development of agricultural machinery manufacturing, the expansion of domestic production, and the provision of servicing are priority tasks.

It was noted that in 2026-2028, it is necessary to increase the production volume of domestically manufactured machinery and equipment by 5 times and raise localization to 10 percent. In particular, in 2026 production is planned to reach 6,000 units, and by 2028 the localization rate is expected to increase to 30-35 percent for self-propelled machinery and to 60-65 percent for mounted and trailed equipment.

The current subsidy system for the purchase of machinery and equipment applies only to machines with a localization level exceeding 25 percent. During the presentation, it was proposed to introduce subsidies for the three most in-demand types of imported machinery as well. In total, 660 billion UZS are planned to be allocated this year to reimburse 15 percent of the machinery costs.

Measures to revitalize and support the Tashkent Tractor Plant’s operations were also reviewed during the presentation.

Measures aimed at providing modern banking services and introducing solutions based on digital technologies and artificial intelligence were also presented.

If in 2025 JSCB Agrobank provided loans for agricultural machinery amounting to 1.6 trillion UZS, this year the figure is planned to increase to 3.9 trillion UZS. The automation of lending processes will enable reducing the time required to provide financing from 3 days to 3 hours.

In addition, clients will be offered comprehensive agricultural services. One agro-service zone will be established in each region, where an agricultural agent will operate. In these zones, farmers will be able to receive banking and consulting services in one place, use monitoring and soil analysis services, arrange seedling delivery, obtain agronomist consultations, and receive information about training courses.

Plans were also reviewed for the bank to implement pilot projects using artificial intelligence in livestock farming and horticulture, and in smart water management, as well as to establish a new venture company with an authorized capital of 100 billion UZS to finance startups in agriculture.

Approving the proposals, the Head of State instructed responsible officials to expand agricultural mechanization, develop domestic production and service infrastructure, and improve monitoring and financial services through digital platforms.

UzA