In holding the Regional Science and Innovation Week, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) aimed to provide a platform for governments, research institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector to discuss and share experiences related to the needs, gaps, and opportunities for integrating science, research, innovation as well as the policy interface mechanisms in accelerating the transformation to more sustainable, inclusive and resilient agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia.
Science and Innovation Day in Tashkent was organized by the FAO Office in Uzbekistan in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and the Tashkent State Agrarian University. The event focused on integrating science, practice, and policy to further implement Integrated Land Management (ILM) in Uzbekistan. It was attended by more than 50 participants, including professors, academia, representatives of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, relevant ministries and departments, and farmers.
The conservation and rational use of land resources is a fundamental point of the FAO mandate to eliminate hunger and ensure food security. Soils are the basis for food production and many essential ecosystem services. It was noted that sustainable land management based on innovative solutions contributes to improving the nutritional value of agricultural products and adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
With financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), FAO implements significant projects in Uzbekistan to strengthen environmental sustainability, rational use of natural resources, and biodiversity conservation. These include the regional project “Integrated Natural Resources Management in Drought-prone and Salt-affected Agricultural Production Landscapes in Central Asia and Turkey (CACILM2)”, the “Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Program in Uzbekistan” and “Sustainable Forest and Rangelands Management in the Dryland Ecosystems of Uzbekistan”, which are implemented jointly with the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
During the Science and Innovation Day, speakers highlighted the importance of science and innovation to the further successful implementation of Integrated Land Management in Uzbekistan within the framework of the FAO projects. Participants also discussed opportunities for further development of cooperation in this area.
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