COP-27. Central Asian Experience. REAP PROJECT
November 11 – Sharm el-Sheikh – Egypt – COP-27 – The Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) organized a side event on “Central Asian Experience: “Resource Efficiency in Agri-Food Production and Processing”.
It was attended by representatives of relevant ministries and departments of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, local and international experts, donors, representatives of international and national partner organizations, financial institutions.
The Side Event was dedicated to promoting CAREC’s resource efficiency initiatives in agro-food production and processing in the Central Asian region. Participants received detailed information on how implementation of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) practices positively affects the productivity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Although agriculture is important to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, food insecurity and heavy reliance on food imports increase vulnerability to climate change in the geopolitical space as well. In Uzbekistan, the share of small businesses in gross agricultural output is 98.1%. Exports of Uzbek agricultural products increase from year to year. As for processing and intermediate storage, Uzbekistan is among the top twenty countries for cold storage. In Tajikistan, more than 60% of the population lives in rural areas. The country’s natural resource base is weak, and due to the continued inefficiency of the Soviet agricultural system, declining productivity poses serious problems for its food security. Business is limited, and the key to improving economic growth and investment is to improve the business environment in agri-food processing by adopting more efficient production methods.
Implementation of SCP practices in the Central Asian region to combat the effects of climate change at regional and national levels will significantly improve food security in the region. The introduction of SCP practices in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan highlighted the importance and benefits of resource efficiency in agri-food production and processing in the region.
The Side Event facilitated a dialogue with stakeholders and donors to discuss challenges and opportunities for MSMEs in PPM while implementing measures in the Central Asian region.
More information – Valeria Orlova, REAP Project Manager, vorlova@carececo.org
Source: https://carececo.org/main/news/ks-27-opyt-tsa-proekt-reap/