Uzbekistan Adds Potatoes to Its New Farm Insurance System as 2027 Self-Sufficiency Deadline Nears
New insurance products for potatoes and onions anchor a subsidy overhaul, as Tashkent pushes to cover domestic potato demand from local production by 2027.
Uzbekistan will introduce new agricultural insurance products covering potatoes and onions, as the government overhauls how it supports and protects farm output ahead of a 2027 deadline to fully cover domestic potato demand from local production.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed proposals to improve the subsidy and insurance systems in agriculture on 25 September, the presidential press service reported. Alongside potatoes and onions, new insurance products will be developed for livestock farming and melons and gourds. By 2027, the government aims to extend insurance coverage to 45,000 agricultural enterprises, raise the share of insured agricultural output to 60 percent, train 500 independent loss-adjustment experts and fully digitalize insurance services.
The move is part of a wider rebuild of state support. Uzbekistan allocated 2.7 trillion soums (about $228.5 million, per Trend) to agricultural subsidies in 2026, across 29 areas and 91 types of support. Starting next year, the country plans to shift from a “funding allocation” model to “performance-based subsidies,” with yields, water and energy savings as key criteria, monitored automatically through government information systems. Subsidies tied to water-saving technology will be clawed back if targets are missed within two to three years. Insurance processes already run through the Agrosafe digital system, and 3–5 percent of premiums are proposed to flow into a special fund financing risk prevention, including biological crop protection measures.
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The insurance push builds on an agricultural insurance law passed in mid-2025, which created an Agricultural Insurance Fund under the Ministry of Agriculture and set a 50 percent state subsidy on premiums, according to UNDP, which helped design the scheme with reinsurers Swiss Re and Europa Re.
Why it matters
Potatoes are a politically sensitive crop in Uzbekistan. The country imported 772,600 tonnes worth $63.6 million in 2025, up 9.9 percent year on year, according to Customs Committee data cited by Gazeta.uz. The president has ordered a harvest of at least 4.5 million tonnes in 2026, the business outlet Spot reported, and planted area is being expanded to 135,000 hectares. For seed suppliers, insurers and equipment makers, the subsidy-for-results model and the 2027 self-sufficiency target point to continued state-backed demand — but with tighter accountability for how the money performs in the field.
Uzbekistan’s drive to grow more of its own potatoes is already reshaping regional trade flows, as we reported when Uzbekistan cut potato imports while Kazakhstan held 80% of supply.
Photo: An irrigated field with potatoes and other crops at Dehibolo, Uzbekistan (illustrative). Primož Jakopin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
