June 25, 2014
Wine-Growing Industry’s Prospects Discussed in Tashkent2
Loans to Back Business Ideas. 2
Efficient Use of Natural Resources. 3
Press-service of MFA of the Republic of Uzbekistan
ECONOMY
Wine-Growing Industry’s Prospects Discussed in Tashkent
The National Press Center of Uzbekistan has hosted a press conference to address the efforts undertaken by the Uzvinosanoat-Holding company to promote viticulture, modernize reprocessing enterprises and consolidate the raw material base.
It was noted at the event that the significance constantly attached in the country to boost the crop capacity of vineyards and improve the quality of products serves to secure the abundance in markets and enhance export capacities. The resolution of the head of our state on measures to further promote viticulture in the nation for the 2013-2015, signed 13 March 2013, serves as an important factor in expanding the scales of works on this front.
Currently, more than forty types of grapes are grown in Uzbekistan, and a particular emphasis is being placed on reprocessing the produce. The nearly 9 thousand farmer enterprises operating at this moment nurture around a million and 400 thousand tons of grapes a year.
This year, the enterprises of the Uzvinosanoat-Holding company prepare to receive 130 thousand tons of harvest of grapes of commercial types. A special attention is paid to the technological re-equipment of enterprises functioning in the system of the company by extensive attraction of foreign investments.
“Expansion of fields for commercial types of grapes and consolidation of the raw base allows for the increase of volumes and improvement of quality of the produce grown,” says Adolat Vostrikova, head of department at the company for modernization and introduction of advanced technologies. “As a result, our produce has been occupying an increasingly robust place both at the domestic and foreign markets. For the last five years, we have earned about 170 gold, silver and bronze medals and received more than 50 diplomas in a variety of contests.”
The enterprises of the Uzvinosanoat-Holding company that specialize in reprocessing grapes have been attaching a particular significance to perfecting the quality of produce, ensuring food security and bolstering the fertility of soil. In 2011-2013, at these enterprises 5.3 thousand hectares of vineyards of commercial sorts were laid, on 330 hectares of which the technology of drip irrigation was introduced. Grape growing in intensive methods was launched on 700 hectares. New vineyards on additional 7.3 thousand hectares are projected to be introduced by 2015.
123.8 thousand tons of grapes were reprocessed in 2013, of which 18 thousand tons were grown at the plantations of the company. This figure is intended to reach 30 thousand tons this year.
The event participants discussed the perfection of types of grapes, the enhancement of production of quality produce by way of technical and technological re-equipment of enterprises as well as the contract interactions with farmers.
(Source: Uzbekistan National news agency – UzA)
BUSINESS CLIMATE
Loans to Back Business Ideas
The total value of the loans made by Uzbekistan’s commercial banks to female entrepreneurs has grown by over 30 times within the past ten years, exceeding 2.6 trillion soums (Сurrency rates of CB from 25.06.2014 1$=2308.39 soums)
According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, these figures are clearly showing the results of the policies aimed at improvement of Uzbek women’s incomes, as well as developing the local loan making organizations and so strengthening the state’s economy. Today, there are thousands of stores, bakeries, beauty salons and other businesses run by enterprising women throughout the country, which proves the efficient use of the loans that have been taken out to open them. A loan received, however, never guarantees a successful business, so the banks support the female entrepreneurs throughout their whole projects being implemented: they provide them with consulting services, help them to develop proper business plans, obtain necessary licenses and export certificates, etc. Among these and other measures taken to select and fund promising business projects in the republic stands out the organization of socially important business initiative contests for women entrepreneurs. Uzbekistan’s banks also make soft loans to manufacturing business with over 50% of female employees.
In the current year, the banks are allocating over 600 billions soums to the development of female entrepreneurship in the country. Besides loan making, they are funding production expansion, re-equipment and construction projects with regard to women’s small businesses.
Foreign partners also take part in this process. Uzbekistan’s People’s Bank and Mikrokredibank, for instance, closely cooperate with German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation. The foundation allocated a sum to set up a micro-loan fund in these Uzbek banks to make loans to local small businesses run by women or employing predominantly women, as well as finance manufacturing, food processing, home-based business and other important projects. Thanks to such loans and funding practices, business initiatives of thousands of Uzbek women are realized in agricultural and services sectors.
(Source: “Uzbekistan Today” newspaper)
Ecology
Efficient Use of Natural Resources
‘Green economy’ is an economy aimed at preserving the welfare of society through the effective use of natural resources. One of the promising directions for its implementation in the agricultural sector of the republic was the development of production of ecologically organic agricultural products. The most advanced alternative to the use of pesticides in agriculture – technology of use of effective microorganisms and biological plant protection products. This is a practical transition from chemical to organic agriculture, i.e. the cultivation of products without chemical protection.
For “greening” the water sector, it is a need to improve the drinking water supply and development of environmentally sound sewage systems.
In areas with no sufficient development of centralized drinking water supply there is modernisation, attracting investment from international financial institutions. It is scheduled to conduct improvement of water mains, create local systems based on desalination plants in the zones of ecological disaster of Aral.
In order to improve water supply and sanitation of settlements, as well as improve public health, it is necessary to strengthen the protection of drinking water sources from pollution and over-exhaustion, provide drinking water to inaccessible and remote rural areas, improve the system of treatment of industrial and domestic sewage of cities and towns.
A special role in the process of Uzbekistan’s transition to a ‘green economy’ energy sector is played by the development of renewable energy sources (RES).
Despite the great potential of renewable energy in our country, their share in the overall power capacity is too small. The factor of limited resource hydrocarbon energy sources, the scale and pace of their depletion in the world encouraged to take the necessary measures not to fall out of the global trend of large-scale development of alternative energy. We believe, to do this, one need to take some important steps. Among them are the development of the state incentive programs and the introduction of alternative energy for mid and long term, creation of required infrastructure for the implementation of renewable energy, training in this area.
An important aspect is the organization of effective waste management. At existing landfills country has accumulated a few hundreds of million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW). Every year, their volume increases by 12-13 million cubic meters, of which 6.3 million cubic meters at the expense of the population. Given this, in order to improve the quality of waste management services and modernization, companies implemented regional programs to improve sanitation systems of cities in which the construction of new transfer stations and points.
In order to eliminate the negative impact of waste on living conditions and welfare of the people, it is necessary to make transition to ‘green’ economy, which will enhance the efficiency of waste management, the implementation of effective incentive mechanism recycling and reuse, as well as the introduction of pre-sorting and separate collection warehousing. Due to the fact that one of the methods of processing municipal solid waste landfills will still need to build them at a waste recycling plant with pre-sorting of MSW.
One of the components of the “green” economy is ‘clean’ vehicles.
In the structure of vehicles used in the country is dominated by road transport. In their country registered about 1.7 million units. It is the second largest consumer of energy, which, along with industry, is one of the main polluters. To reduce emissions of greenhouse gases vehicles being transformed to alternative energy sources, in particular, compressed gas, hydrogen or biofuels, synthetic fuels from plastic.
In conclusion, I would like to note the following. A special role in the process of Uzbekistan’s transition to ‘green’ economy plays education and science. And it will require improvement of state standards, training processes and training system for further future developments and scientific potential of the country. It is estimated that this change in the agricultural sector, energy, waste management, transport, education and science will allow to create 553 thousand new jobs by 2023, more than a million by 2030, which will provide employment especially in rural areas.
Boriy Alikhanov,
Vice-Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis, Chairman of the Committee on Ecology and the Environmental Protection.
(Source: “Uzbekistan Today” newspaper)