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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) members Europa RE and Swiss Re, with support from BMZ through the InsuResilience Solutions Fund (ISF), The Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbeksitan, The National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP), today launched new agricultural insurance products which have been tailored for smallholder horticulture farmers in Uzbekistan in the context of the Tripartite Agreement Programme. The insurance covers six key crops across five regions, with the Government of Uzbekistan, through the Ministry of Agriculture, subsidizing 50% of the premium cost to make the insurance protection more accessible to climate-vulnerable horticulture farmers.
Agriculture plays a crucial role in Uzbekistan’s economy, accounting for 24.3% of the national GDP and employing about 26% of the labor force. Fruit production has seen a 5.1% increase, with the country exporting over 1 million metric tons of fruits in 2024. Roughly 65% of agricultural production comes from dehqan farmers – or smallholder farmers – who occupy 13% of the cultivated land.
To mitigate the escalating impacts of climate changes and unpredictable weather patterns on farmers’ crop yields, the “Agriculture Insurance Scheme for Horticulture Farmers in Uzbekistan” project was launched in 2023. With strong public-private cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, NAPP, UNDP, Swiss Re, Europa Re, and local insurers “Uzagrosugurta” and “Semurg”, the agriculture insurance products developed aimed to protect cherry, grape, apricot, pomegranate, apple and walnut crops against frost in 5 regions - Tashkent, Samarkand, Ferghana, Andijan and Namangan.
On 3 April 2025, the agriculture insurance products were presented to local insurers' sales force, government agencies and local farmer organizations to mark the start of and stimulate the sales process. The presentation of the agricultural products to a broader stakeholder group, including the Association of Professional Insurance Market Participants, the Hydrometeorological Service Centre and other agencies from the public and private sectors is part of the strategy to expand the reach of these climate-linked agri products, and scale up the financial protection to more regions and farmers.
Ilkhom Juraev, Head of Financing and Subsidising Department, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan said:
“Risks in the agricultural industry pose a serious threat to crop production, farmers' welfare and the economy of Uzbekistan. Given the high level of risks in agriculture, as well as their further growth due to climate change, the development of agro-insurance is one of the key ways to manage risks. I would like to note the importance for farmers to have the opportunity to insure their crops and invite insurance companies to jointly develop this area.”
Sobir Hasanov, Head of Agricultural Insurance Department, "Uzagrosugurta" said:
“Agroinsurance is an important area of development for the economy of Uzbekistan and one of the main methods of risk management, including climate risk management. For representatives of insurance companies and other industry-related agencies, participation in this scheme is both practical and as well as have theoretical valuerpoints of view. On behalf of “Uzagrosugurta”, we invite farmers of Uzbekistan to protect their harvest today.”
The launch event was supported within the framework of the UNDP global project ‘Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF) in Uzbekistan’ funded by the Government of Germany, the main objective of which is to support the countries participating in the project in the development of the insurance market of Uzbekistan, including: Integration of insurance policy into the country's economic development programme, development of inclusive insurance, financing of sovereign risks, risks from natural disasters, attracting additional investments in the insurance industry, etc. The training was conducted jointly with the project ‘Development of agro-insurance in Uzbekistan’, which is implemented by insurance companies “Swiss Re” and “Europe Re”.
