areas). However, many of these associations require mandatory membership and it is unclear what services these associations provide to their members.
So far, adoption of modern technologies in Uzbekistan’s agriculture sector has been low, contributing to low land and labour productivity, as well as low farm profitability. Greater adoption of new
technologies, including through public investment in agricultural knowledge and information systems, offers an opportunity to significantly increase profitability and grow the demand for labour. In the Uzbek context, crop diversification and adoption of new horticulture technologies such as
greenhouses and intensive orchards may offer more stable employment opportunities. In addition, the Government has already taken steps towards the mechanisation of cotton harvesting, allocating additional funds for the purchase of cotton-picking machines by cotton and textile clusters and other economic entities in September 2020.
Quarantine measures have stimulated the development and growth of online retail and delivery services.
Delivery service platforms have seen significant growth in demand for food delivery following introduction of quarantine measures in March 2020. The restrictions on movement have also led greater numbers of restaurants to introduce e-commerce and delivery services for their customers, including via restaurant-oriented platforms such as Bringo and through the use of apps like Telegram (Spot, 2020a).
The development of e-commerce has coincided with an increase in non-cash payments as more people have switched to paying for goods and services online. However, cash payments are still widespread including in rural areas and at dekhan food markets, in part due to a lack of technical infrastructure, unstable Internet connection and limited use of smart devices among rural residents (Spot, 2020b).
Financial illiteracy and lack of trust in banks reportedly contribute to customers’ reluctance to switch to non-cash payments, adding to the logistical challenges faced by agribusiness retailers seeking to grow e-commerce.
Skills supply and demand in Uzbek agribusiness
While levels of education and skills are generally high, there is a pronounced mismatch between the supply and demand of skills on the labour market. Across the economy as a whole, the mismatch between academic qualifications and labour market needs is particularly pronounced when it comes to graduates from vocational institutions – between 2014 and 2019 it is estimated that, on average, less than half of TVET graduates have found jobs in their field of specialization (ETF, 2020). The matching of skills with jobs is further hindered by information failure, with workers often having limited
information on available jobs (ADB, 2020).
Uzbekistan’s agribusiness sector is largely focused on low-skill primary agriculture, although automation and adoption of labour-saving technologies are projected to increase, requiring enterprises to manage workers’ skill gaps and invest in reskilling and upskilling. In particular, demand for ‘new economy’
digital skills is expected to increase in the coming years, with local commentators suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic is already growing demand for IT skills, particularly in areas related to online retail platforms, including delivery services.
COVID has further had a positive impact on the development of digital education and use of ICT in the education sector. Greater development and use of digital technology are expected to continue over the long-term and will support greater outreach of educational programmes, particularly to harder to reach regions. For example, it could be used to support work-based learning or dual learning programmes in the agribusiness sector in remote areas, allowing students to undertake work placements while maintaining close links to educational or vocational institutions (Focus group with national stakeholders, December 2020).
A key challenge to skills supply is the lack of coordination between TVET providers and the private sector.
Although vocational colleges enter into mandatory agreements with employers and local authorities, colleges and firms do not interact sufficiently to address issues of skills development, curriculum revisions, and practical training. There are also concerns with regard to the quality of teaching at
TVET institutions, especially in rural areas, particularly with regard to the low amount of time dedicated to practical instruction.
Less than a quarter of all Uzbek companies offer formal training programs to their employees. In
particular, small farms and firms rarely have the capacity to invest in staff training, making government efforts to raise the education and skills levels of the workforce particularly important (World Bank, 2020). The free flow of workers reportedly reduces incentives for enterprises to invest in skill improvement of their workers, creating market failures that could be corrected by the government through co-financing of training/retraining programs.
Inclusion
Agricultural employment has a stronger effect on poverty reduction than any other employment, as 80 percent of the Uzbekistan’s poor reside in the rural areas (World Bank, 2020). The creation of inclusive and high-quality agri-food jobs in subsectors and industries with strong comparative advantages and market opportunities (such as horticulture) is key not only to poverty reduction, but also to enhancing Uzbekistan’s food security and economic growth as a result of spill-over to regional and rural economies.
Young people in Uzbekistan are more likely to be unemployed or informally employed compared to other age groups. While the overall unemployment rate stood at 9% in 2019, the unemployment rate among people aged 16-30 is estimated at 15% (State Committee on Statistics, 2019; Research Centre for Employment and Occupational Safety, 2019). There is significant potential for the agribusiness sector to take a leading role in addressing this challenge as it is estimated that the sector has the potential to increase employment by between 19 and 32 percentage points by 2030, equivalent to the annual creation of 0.7-1.3 million jobs (World Bank, 2020a).
Women’s overall labour force participation is significantly lower than that of men, with little change over the past 20 years. In fact, the female participation rate in 2019 was 26 percentage points below men’s – nearly twice the average gap in high-income countries (15%) and much higher than in comparator countries such as Russia (10%) and Kazakhstan (12%) (ILOSTAT, 2019). This is partly attributed to the lack of high-quality childcare facilities (ADB, 2020). In addition, women are more likely to be unemployed, with the female unemployment rate estimated at 13% (Research Centre for Employment and Occupational Safety, 2019). In rural areas, women’s low level of educational attainment poses an additional constraint. Low enrolment figures have been attributed to relatively early marriages, families prioritising boys’ education, and the high economic costs of obtaining higher education. As a result, rural women often lack technical skills and have low financial capacity and low business literacy.
In agribusiness, women are more likely to be engaged in the early stages of value chains, including the generally lower-paid and lower-skilled cultivation, harvesting, and post-harvesting. For example, women represent 53% of all workers in primary agriculture and the agriculture sector remains the main provider of jobs for women in rural areas, although women hold only 5.5% of farms (European
Commission, 2020). Where women also sell their products, they tend to do so at local markets and are generally disconnected from retailers and exporters, while higher-value activities, such as trade, transport, and marketing, are typically dominated by male farmers and specialised firms.
Policy measures supporting inclusive skills for enterprise development in agribusiness
Uzbekistan’s TVET system is currently undergoing reform, in alignment with the country’s Strategy on Development of Uzbekistan in 2017–2021. The 2017–2021 Strategy considers the ‘social dimension’, including education sector reform, as one of the key priorities for further progress, aiming to adapt educational programmes at all levels of education to the needs of the economy.
The Uzbek Government has recently embarked on an ambitious process to transform its agriculture sector into a competitive, market and export-oriented sector that will generate economic growth, improve incomes and create new employment opportunities. The Strategy for Agriculture Development in
Uzbekistan for 2020-2030 targets $20 billion in agricultural exports by 2030, up from a total of $2.3 billion in 2018. However, the strategy does not contain an explicit focus on jobs, and there is scope for further recognition and emphasis on the role of inclusive skills in sector development.
The Government is also seeking to develop occupational skills standards for each economic sector, including through the development of recently created sectoral Skills Councils. In addition, the National Research Centre for Employment and Labour Protection (under the Ministry of Labour) is responsible for identifying labour market needs, which will be key in future development of vocational education and training programmes. Developing educational programmes based on professional skills standards will be key to filling skills gaps (Focus group with national stakeholders, December 2020). A pilot project in competence-based teaching and learning has been successfully tested in tourism colleges with plans to extend it to construction, agriculture, textiles, and IT (ETF, 2020).
From January 2021 onwards, the professional qualifications of graduates of Ishga Marhamat monocentre and vocational training centres will be evaluated in accordance with the WorldSkills standard, with graduates receiving Skills Passports equal in status to an SSVE diploma (Kun.uz, 2020).
It is envisaged that a single register of graduates with qualifications will also be established. In addition, the State Employment Assistance Fund provides a number of benefits to graduates who have undergone training at non-governmental vocational training institutions and acquired a Skills Passport.
References:
Asian Development Bank, 2020, Uzbekistan: Quality Job Creation as a Cornerstone for Sustainable Economic Growth: https://www.adb.org/publications/uzbekistan-job-creation-economic-growth European Commission, 2020, Annex of the Commission Implementing Decision on the financing of the annual action programme in favour of Uzbekistan for 2020, Action Document for EU Budget Support to the Agriculture Sector in the Republic of Uzbekistan: https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/system/files/uzbekistan-c-2020-302-annex-agriculture_en_0.pdf
European Training Foundation, 2020, Uzbekistan Torino Process Report Summary 2018-20:
https://openspace.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2020-12/TRP%202020%20Uzbekistan_Summary%20report_EN.pdf
International Labour Organisation, 2020, Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic situation in Uzbekistan: Income, labour market and access to social protection:
https://www.ilo.org/moscow/information-resources/publications/WCMS_759842/lang--en/index.htm ILOSTAT, 2019, Labour force participation rate by sex, age and rural / urban areas -- ILO modelled estimates, Nov. 2019 (%) – Annual:
https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer0/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=EAP_2WAP_SEX_AGE _RT_A
Kun.uz, 2020, Uzbekistan to start issuing Skills Passports: https://kun.uz/en/33363163
Research Centre for Employment and Occupational Safety of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2019, 2018 йил декабрь ойида ўтказилган “Уй
хўжаликларида бандлик масалаларини ўрганиш” мавзусидаги социологик тадқиқот натижалари асосида тайёрланган Ўзбекистон Республикаси меҳнат ресурсларининг январь-декабрь
ойларидаги (йиллик) ҳисоб-китоб балансига шарҳлар:
http://old.mehnat.uz/upload/file/dlya_sayta_btr_25_01_2018
State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics, 2019a, Численность экономически активного населения, занятых и безработных:
http://web.stat.uz/open_data/ru/14.6%20Economically%20active%20population_rus.pdf Spot, 2020a, Как коронавирус повлиял на рынок доставки Ташкента:
https://www.spot.uz/ru/2020/03/19/delivery/