Uzbekistan new indd

recommendations
Based on the above analysis, several recommenda-
tions can be advanced.
To International Donors
International donors should support national-level 
solutions as opposed to regional ones. Regional co-
operation over water remains mostly declaratory and 
unfeasible because of various historical and political 
factors. National-level solutions that do not compro-
mise the needs and interests of riparian states should 
be given priority. This will help prevent the over-po-
liticization of water and energy in the region. To 
de-securitize the issue, water should be approached 
from a water consumption perspective as opposed to 
a water distribution one. 
To Uzbekistan
Water overconsumption in Uzbekistan should be 
addressed not only from the perspective of capi-
tal-intensive technologies, but also from the knowl-
edge-based activities’ point of view. The provision 
of good agricultural extension services is of para-
mount importance. Under the current system of 
Water Users’ Associations, farmers are primary 
stakeholders. They have expressed interest in sav-
ing water and in dealing with the ineffectiveness of 
the current system by cleaning on-farm canals, in-
dependently installing the pumps, negotiating their 
water rights, etc. 
However, besides capacity-building actions, 
specified in the Welfare Improvement Strategy of 
Uzbekistan, Uzbek farmers should also be provided 
with better market conditions. In this respect, the 
government should address the current constraints 
related to the level of agricultural extension, land use 
and land ownership, the state procurement prices 
for cotton/wheat, export restrictions on agricultural 
produce, provision of subsidies, and incentives for 
non-cotton/non-wheat production.
62 “Israel technologies for farmers in Uzbekistan,” Embassy of Israel in Uzbekistan, 2014, http://embassies.gov.il/tashkent/NewsAndEvents/Pages/
GH.aspx.

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