Central Asia stands at the brink of transformative change in agriculture and rural development, shaped by both persistent challenges and emerging opportunities. The region faces significant pressures from land degradation, water scarcity, and climate variability, all of which pose risks to long-term agricultural productivity and food security. At the same time, ongoing investments in modern technologies, institutional reforms, and market-oriented approaches are transforming agricultural sector, creating new pathways for sustainability, resilience and economic growth. Understanding how these dynamics interact and identifying strategies for sustainable agricultural transformation are crucial to ensuring long-term agricultural growth and rural prosperity.
The region’s shared heritage and pressing development challenges create the diversity of pathways, making it a compelling subject for comparative theoretical and empirical research that informs both academia and policymakers. As the region navigates these changes, cooperation among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners is essential to fostering development in agri-food systems and rural areas.
The aim of the conference is to provide a platform for knowledge exchange, discussion and networking by inviting international and Central Asian researchers to share and discuss their findings to better understand the complex issues, challenges and opportunities of agricultural development in Central Asia. The conference will be structured around four sub-themes:
- Theme 1: Agricultural Sustainability and Climate Resilience
- Theme 2: Policies, Institutions, and Governance for Agricultural Transformation
- Theme 3: Innovation and Technology Adoption for Sustainable Agriculture
- Theme 4: Agri-Food Markets, Value Chains, and Economic Development
Specific conference topics:
- Drivers and barriers to innovation adoption
- Water management and climate adaptation strategies
- Behavioral and institutional factors of farmers’ decisions
- Gender dynamics in sustainable agriculture and rural development
- The impact of policy reforms on agricultural and rural growth
- Inclusive value chains for rural development
- Digitalization, big data and AI in agricultural development
Submissions of extended abstracts by researchers from Central Asia, as well as comparative and cross-country empirical, cross-sectional and longitudinal, and theoretical contributions are strongly encouraged.
The conference is organized jointly by Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) and Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO).
The conference is part of the UzFarmBarometer project (Better understanding of the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Uzbekistan). The organizers gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Innovative Development Agency under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Uzbekistan and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
