The President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at an extraordinary session of the Bukhara province's council of people's deputies on Friday warned the Minister of Agriculture Jamshid Khodjaev and the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the development of agrarian and food areas, Shukhrat Ganiev that they would be sacked if they failed to implement drip irrigation in the agriculture.
He stated that he was not satisfied with the current development of Bukhara. According to him, the province is lagging behind by 10 years than other regions. In addition, corruption and bribery have not been eradicated, and the share of agriculture in the gross regional product is 50%, which is "the sign of the old days."
Shavkat Mirziyoyev pointed to high water consumption in agriculture. “Agriculture is lagging far behind. Personally, I am absolutely not satisfied. The use of water in agriculture in Bukhara province is twice as high. Do you know how difficult it is to get water here? We consume a lot of electricity,” he said.
The President announced the need for widespread implementing of water-saving technologies in the field.
“When will we learn to save water? When will we expand drip irrigation? I strictly warned Khodjaev, if he fails to fulfill the tasks, he will leave the post. Recently I fired two ministers. I'll sack him too,” he warned.
The head of state noted that Uzbekistan is still "working according to the Soviet method" in the field of agriculture.
“I saw in Europe in 1993 that every drop of water falling on the ground, every gram of fertilizer is counted. When will we increase the yield and profitability? I warned Ganiev that if he does not properly establish the system, he will leave the post," Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.
