Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – As part of efforts to promote sustainability in Uzbekistan's agri-food sector, the European Union supported a student debate highlighting the importance of efficient water and land management practices.

The student debate was organized in partnership with the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers and the Tashkent State Agrarian University. Two dozen bachelor's and master's students participated in the debate, in which they were asked to demonstrate their knowledge and critical thinking on the topic of "Efficient Water and Land Management in Uzbekistan's Agricultural Sector."

The debate was an opportunity for the next generation of agricultural experts in Uzbekistan to think like policymakers and decide how they would allocate financial resources to improve the productivity and sustainability of the agri-food sector in Uzbekistan. 

To learn about the importance of different kinds of policy interventions in the agri-food sector, students from the two institutions were asked to present a case for how best to spend a hypothetical grant of EUR 1 million to improve irrigation and land management in Uzbekistan's agricultural sector.

In his welcome speech, Wim Riempa, Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the EU to Uzbekistan, highlighted the importance of government assistance as well as knowledge and information systems in Agriculture to cope with the challenges the sector faces today, particularly climate change.

“Good governance, the green transition of the economy, and building strong knowledge and innovation systems are fundamental aspects of water and land efficient management. This is not just today's debate topic, bust also one of the main aspects of EU – Uzbekistan Cooperation,” said Riempa.

The student arguments were evaluated by an expert jury of water and land use experts working on EU-funded projects in Uzbekistan. 

Educators from the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and the Tashkent State Agrarian University highlighted the pedagogical value of such debates, which stimulate students to take their theoretical knowledge and apply it to real-world scenarios. 

“The question of the use of natural resources is very critical. It is in cooperation and dialogue that representatives of agriculture and irrigation must solve it, which is exactly the point of today's debate, in which students can engage in a dialogue with each other and try to contribute to the solution of this issue,” said Komil Bukhorov, Head of the Department of Ecology and Botany at the Tashkent State Agrarian University.

The representative of the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation, Dr. Lukmon Samiyev, added: “We very much hope that events such as today's debate will encourage future professionals to seek new innovative methods of solving water and land issues in Uzbekistan using their resourcefulness, creativity, and knowledge.”

By a small margin of just 26 points, the team from the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation won the debate. The jury praised both teams but awarded first place to the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation’s proposed “IPipe” project for its likely impact, long-lasting benefits, and smart mitigation of risks. 

The winning team was awarded a unique prize—an invitation to the meeting with H.E Charlotte Adriaen, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Uzbekistan.