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Uzbekistan, Rep. of
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LOAN: UZB 30458-01
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Ak Altin Agricultural Development Project
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Location
Ak Altin Raion and Syr Darya Oblast
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Sector
Agriculture & Natural Resources /Agriculture Sector Development
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Initial Listing
1 January 1997
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Most Recent Update
27 February 2007
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Executing Agency(ies)
Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources
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- Missions
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| TA Fact-Finding |
Loan Fact-Finding |
Pre-Appraisal |
Appraisal |
| 10 Feb-3 Mar 1997 |
30 Oct-11 Dec 1998 |
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9-22 Nov 1999 |
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Loan Approval Date
23 August 2001
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Estimated Completion Date
December 2004
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- Cost and Financing Plan (in US$ million)
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| Source |
Foreign Cost |
Local Cost |
Total |
| Bank |
36.00 |
0.00 |
36.00 |
| Cofinancing |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| Borrower |
15.00 |
0.00 |
15.00 |
| Beneficiaries |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| Others |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| Project/Program Cost |
51.00 |
0.00 |
51.00 |
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OCR |
ADF |
Total |
| Loan Amount |
36.00 |
0.00 |
36.00 |
- Description
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The Project is designed to address the key sector issues of low producer incentive in cotton production, excessive State control on farm businesses, and deteriorated irrigation and drainage systems. In response to the Government's request to search for better mechanisms to promote agricultural development, the Project will test a set of policy reforms in Ak Altin Raion, with a view to replicating the reform measures nationwide if proven to be successful. The core of the reforms is to replace the current State order system that contols total cotton production with a fixed quantity of "procurement quota", which will not be increased even with substantial yield increases in the future. After fulfilling their individual procurement quotas, farmers will have the freedom to sell their above-quota crops at prices set between buyers and sellers without Government intervention, and the freedom to select input suppliers and cropping patterns. It is expected that, by setting the price right at the margin, farmers will have sufficient incentive to increase production since all incremental outputs will belong to farmers.
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- Thematic Classification
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- Poverty Classification
- Poverty Intervention
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- Rationale
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Because of the importance of cotton production in Uzbekistan, declining production in recent years is a matter of concern to the highest level of the Government. The poor performance can be attributed to three basic factors: (i) low producer incentive; (ii) restrictions on farm operations; and (iii) deteriorated production base. The Government fully recognizes these issues. The threat of poor agricultural performance to national efforts for employment generation, poverty reduction, and social stability, has led the Government to search for better mechanisms to promote agricultural development. These include donor-funded pilot projects to demonstrate tangible benefits of policy innovation. The proposed Project is such an effort.
- Objectives and Scope
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The objective of the Project is to improve agricultural performance and increase farm income in Ak Altin Rayon, with focus on cotton and wheat production. The sector goal of the Project is to promote agricultural development on a sustainable basis. It is expected that the Project interventions that prove to be successful could be replicated nationwide.
The Project will comprise four components: (i) institutional support, monitoring and evaluation; (ii) rehabilitation of the irrigation and drainage systems; (iii) farm machinery services; and (iv) Project management.
- Policy Dialogue
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The following issues have been discussed with the Government: (i) State procurement; (ii) marketing and trade; (ii) commercialization of State and Ex-State enterprises; (iii) farm debt restructuring; (iv) modification of banking regulations; and (v) improvement or irrigation, drainage, and water supply systems.
- Environment Category:
B
- Environment Impact and Mitigation
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- Social Aspects and Remedies
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- Benefits and Beneficiaries
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Benefits will include increased farmers' income and improved agricultural performance in Ak Altin Raion. Beneficiaries will include farmers and service enterprises as well as cotton traders in Ak Altin Raion.
- Public Consultation
- Arranged by Borrower and Bank
- Date for Consultation : October 1998 to June 1999
- Groups Consulted : Potential beneficiaries in Ak Altin Raion.
- Beneficiary Participation in Formulation
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Beneficiaries will be involved during project design, implementation, and monitoring.
- Beneficiary Participation in Implementation
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Beneficiary participation will be continuous during project processing and implementation.
- Consulting Services
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The Project will provide for 65 person-months of international consultants and 198 person-months of domestic consultants. The consultants will assist the EA in (i) monitoring, evaluation, and design of pilot farms; (ii) carrying out surveys and investigations, preparing and reviewing designs, and supervising construction of on-farm and interfarm irrigation and drainage facilities; and (iii) Project administration. The input of international consultants will be limited to the initial years during which they, in addition to normal work, will provide hands-on training to the domestic consultants and PMO/PSO staff who will then carry out the Project activities independently during the later part of the implementation period.
The consulting services will be provided by international consulting firms in association with domestic consulting firm(s) to be engaged by the MAWR in accordance with Bank Guidelines on the Use of Consultants and other arrangements acceptable to the Bank on the engagement of the domestic consultants.
- Procurement
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Procurement by the Government under the Project will be largely for machinery, equipment, civil works, and services for the irrigation and drainage rehabilitation, as well as office equipment and materials required for Project implementation and monitoring. All procurement will be undertaken in accordance with the Bank's Guidelines on Procurement. Any equipment and materials procurement contract estimated to cost the equivalent of $500,000 or more shall be awarded on the basis of international competitive bidding (ICB). Contracts costing less than $500,000 will be carried out on the basis of international shopping procedures acceptable to the Bank. Small supply contracts costing less than $50,000 which are unlikely to be of interest to international suppliers, but for which goods are available locally at competitive prices, will be procured using local competitive bidding procedures acceptable to the Bank, or through direct purchase.
Each civil works contract estimated to cost the equivalent of $1.0 million or more will be awarded on the basis of ICB as described in the Bank's Guidelines for Procurement. Civil works packages costing less than $1.0 million will be carried out on the basis of LCB procedures acceptable to the Bank. Minor civil works costing less than $50,000 may be carried out either through direct award of small package contracts or force account works. MAWR will be responsible for supervising all procurement.
- Contacts
- Bank
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Lourdes S. Adriano
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Senior Rural Development Economist
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CWAE
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Tel. No.:
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(632) 632-6214
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E-mail:
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ladriano@adb.org
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- Executing Agency
- Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources
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Contact Person
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Mr. A. Juraev, Deputy Minister
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Tel. No.
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(7-3712) 414-814
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Fax. No.
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(7-3712) 410-053
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E-mail
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Contact Person
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Tel. No.
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Fax. No.
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E-mail
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- Remarks
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High Government priority.
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Projects 
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