Two evaluation of projects in the agri-food sector in Uzbekistan

The evaluation reviews EU support (EUR 14.5m to LDP; EUR 21m to HDP) channelled through World Bank trust funds to modernise Uzbekistan’s agri-food sector. It analyses relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability and EU added value. 

Fieldwork covered all regions, interviewing 156 informants from government, banks, farmers and agro-processors. Both projects fit national reform agendas and promoted technology uptake, training, upgraded research and laboratory facilities, and soft loans. Quantitative targets were largely achieved and many beneficiaries reported higher yields and incomes, particularly medium and large farms. Yet weak producer organisations, top-down design, and limited transformation of public services restricted smallholder benefits, diversification, and market access. 

In HDP, most demonstration plots were set in research institutes rather than farms, utilisation of new labs is still low, and GlobalGAP/HACCP certification reached only a small share. In LDP, policy outputs such as the livestock strategy and animal identification system advanced, but extension and veterinary services remain subsidy-dependent and not demand-driven. 

EU added value lies in long-term capacity building and grants that widened access to innovation, especially for women and dekhkans, but sustainability depends on stronger value-chain governance, participatory research, and resolving macro-economic constraints (energy, water, finance).