Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment: Update

Lessons Learned

the implementing agency lacks a mechanism to ensure the motivation and commitment of gender focal points (GFps) in implementing Gaps. additionally, most GFps are overloaded with other duties, resulting in high turnover. Small intermittent bonuses or opportunities for capacity development in the city could serve to motivate field GFps.

Gender specialists in project management units need more opportunities to share their experience in Gap implementation under diverse adB projects.¹⁶⁶

there is a budget shortfall for gender-focused activities (including capacity-building and outreach interventions with a sharpened gender focus), brochures, leaflets, public service announcements, posters, and print and electronic media.

7. recommendations

For government

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  Consider establishing a stabilization fund for women farmers under the farmers association to counter the risks associated with farming.
  
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  Consider reestablishing credit unions to provide cash loans to women farmers.
  
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  discuss and support the potential for using natural sources (e.g., wind, falling canal water where available, solar energy, and mini water projects) to generate electricity. With focused support, such projects might become a female-managed segment of interventions.
  
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  Support gender mainstreaming in agriculture by facilitating the development and endorsement of a long-term gender policy by the implementing agency (Ministry of agriculture and Water Resources).
  
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  Focus job generation schemes on improving quality of life in the agriculture sector, specifically by supporting economic analyses of household incomes and expenditures, sources of employment, labor use in farm and agribusiness operations, and farmers’ market access at the project design phase. to monitor progress toward good job creation, conduct surveys during the midterm implementation and completion phases.
  
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  Consider job creation schemes with initial assistance in the form of seeds, seedlings, poultry feed, and small equipment for SMe development as part of the project.
  
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  Support a baseline assessment, mainly for quantitative data, within Gap interventions to address identified knowledge gaps and provide effective evidence, based on measurable performance of indicators set up in the Gap.
  

For Participating Commercial Banks

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  endorse corporate gender policies if that has not yet been done.
  
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  Set realistic and reasonable targets during Gap planning.
  
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  discuss and support the mechanism for preserving the institutional memory of trained staff in the implementing agency and the GFps.
  
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  Consider including a 30% quota for women farmers in the total loan portfolio (2017 baseline: 20.5%).¹⁶⁷
  

¹⁶⁶ adB. 2017. Uzbekistan: Horticulture Value Chain Development Project. Gap progress report. Uzbekistan Resident Mission.
¹⁶⁷ appendix 2.
56 Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment Update

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  Support capacity building under the auspices of Gap implementation, with not less than 30% female participation.
  
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  Collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, NGOs, tadbirkor ayol (BWa), and the Hunarmand (Handicraft) association in specific capacity
  

development interventions for the development of SMes and agriculture; marketing skills; and familiarity with the specificities of operating rented farms, taxes and loans, insurance systems, agriculture development, and business planning, and management laws, creation of cooperatives and unions, more modern agricultural skills and techniques taking into account agricultural specificities, and processing technologies (e.g., cheese making, the preparation of homemade butter).

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  Collaborate with the WCU and other state and non-state stakeholders on the extension of interventions among women farmers in financial and nonfinancial bank services for female clients.
  

6.