Ministry of Agriculture, ACIR Discuss Agricultural Innovation

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Ibrohim Abdurahmonov held a meeting with Erik Azulay, founder of the US organization Alliance for Commercialization and Innovation Research (ACIR) and member of Uzbekistan's International Expert Council.

The sides discussed the development of cooperation in agricultural innovation, the commercialization of scientific developments, and the attraction of investment to the sector.

The talks focused on supporting innovation in agriculture, applying scientific research results in practice, and expanding project financing opportunities through international grant programs.

One of the key topics of the meeting was expanding the Ministry of Agriculture's participation in projects under the World Bank-funded MUNIS 2 program.

The negotiators also considered opportunities to organize systematic educational programs for scientists, researchers, and agribusiness representatives.

The programs are expected to cover the preparation of applications for international grants, the development of commercialization plans for scientific projects, market research, and intellectual property protection issues.

In addition, the parties discussed developing an innovation ecosystem in the agricultural sector, including the incubation of agritech startups and scientific developments, expanding grant programs, promoting promising projects to the market, and adapting international experience to conditions in Uzbekistan.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached on the further development of cooperation in innovation commercialization, the introduction of scientific developments into agriculture, and the implementation of joint educational, consulting, and innovation initiatives involving ACIR.