Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) signed the Letter of Agreement during the international conference on "Intensive and innovative solutions to combat land degradation", dedicated to the International Earth Day. The event was organized by the FAO in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the “Uzdavyerloyiha” Scientifically-Design Institute.

By signing the Letter of Agreement parties are committed to continue cooperation in the implementation of the “Food systems, land use and restoration impact program in Uzbekistan”, which is a part of the Global FOLUR Impact Program. The total amount of the agreement is US$550,000. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project “Food systems, land use and restoration impact program in Uzbekistan” is aimed at introduction of efficient land management technologies and conservation approaches in wheat-dominated production landscapes, and the creation of environmentally friendly value chains to realize the transition from ecosystem degradation to sustainable management. The project is implementing in Republic of Karakalpakstan, Kashkadarya and Khorezm provinces of Uzbekistan.

To deliver the project outcome, ICARDA will develop national incentives adopted to promote ILM in line with LDN principles and climate-smart, environmentally sound wheat and wheat landscape production and contribute to the conservation and restoration of habitats/ ecosystems in production landscapes for GEF and enhanced ecosystem services to support agriculture in an equitable manner, report describing economic indicators for scaling technology and a report outlining the economic model for one technology at the landscape level will also be prepared, which will be piloted documented and showcased in Year 2 of the project.