Agricultural transition in Uzbekistan, as in all CIS countries, is driven by a process of land reform, which involves redistribution of land among producers and concomitant changes in farm structure. In this article we review the process of land reform since Uzbekistan’s independence and examine its impacts on agricultural growth and rural family incomes. The analysis is based on official statistics and data from a farm-level survey carried out in 2007.

The present paper aims to demonstrate how the state land ownership affects development of agricultural sector in Uzbekistan, and what are its strengths and weaknesses. It highlights the importance of secure land right regardless of ownership. Land in Uzbekistan is state-owned; the exclusive state ownership of land was first incorporated in the 1992 Constitution. The official rationale was to ensure food security and social stability; another concern was the state-run irrigation system, operation of which would be hampered in the event of land privatization.

En juillet 2017, le nouveau Premier ministre, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, tient un Conseil interministériel et procède au gel de plusieurs décisions concernant « l’affectation des réserves foncières destinées à la création de nouvelles exploitations agricoles et d’élevage » [1]. Ces décisions ont été prises par son prédécesseur, Abdelmalek Sellal, quelques mois auparavant dans l’intention d’attribuer des milliers d’hectares de terres arables à des investisseurs privés en vue de la création de quelque 300 nouveaux projets agricoles.