In January this year, Uzbek media reported that authorities in Khavast district of Syrdarya region were forcing farmers en masse in to write statements agreeing to the “voluntary” termination of their long-term land lease agreements.

One farmer told the media that on December 30, 2025, local farmers were informed that, by order of the hokim (governor) of Syrdarya region, a mass seizure of land plots was planned.

In response, the district hokimiyat issued a statement on January 12, 2026, in which it denied that the land seizures were illegal. According to the statement, 523 out of 770 farms in the district have large debts to banks and tax authorities, and the Enforcement Bureau has issued writs of execution to recover these debts. In addition, the district administration has filed lawsuits to seize land from 110 farms.

“The inefficient use of land by some farmers and their failure to fulfill obligations are leading to increased unemployment, reduced production volumes, and incomplete budget revenue collection. Currently, the district’s farms owe 40 billion soums to tax authorities and 128 billion soums to banks,” the Khavast district administration said in its official statement.

The lack of rights of farmers in Uzbekistan continues to prevent farming from becoming a strong and economically viable sector. An industry that could become the backbone of the country’s economy remains completely dependent on local hokims. According to the Uzbek media outlet Kun.uz which investigated the case, what is happening in Syrdarya vividly illustrates this situation.

Journalist Shokir Sharipov recently visited the Khavast district and witnessed the growing despair of farmers whose land is being taken away. Farmer Mamadali Mamarahimov said that his land was confiscated because he had “illegally” used four hectares of leased land to grow onions.

“I planted cotton on 13 hectares and wheat on 22 hectares. I fulfilled both the cotton and wheat plans. I signed a contract with the cluster and met the futures contract requirements. But the hokimiyat filed a lawsuit claiming that I had illegally planted onions on four hectares. I have the right to plant other crops, and two hectares of onions were grown for workers. The onions were harvested, cotton was replanted, and the plan was fulfilled. I had a small debt to the state. I paid 70 million soums in taxes and leased equipment. But even after paying off the debt, my land lease agreement was still terminated,” Mamarahimov said.

In dozens of interviews with Uzbek Forum, farmers said that because cotton and grain prices are very low and often do not even cover production costs, they use small plots of land to grow produce that can be sold at markets or distributed to workers as payment in kind.

“Fuel, lubricants, and chemicals are sold to us at very high prices. Preferential loans are not issued on time. Banks open the credit lines, but we cannot use them when we need them. This year, I planted ten hectares of wheat at my own expense. I did not receive a preferential loan and had to do everything myself,” Mamarahimov added.

Farmers claim that local authorities use various pretexts to seize land and that such pressure has become systematic. Another farmer from Khavast, Gulom Kurbonov, said that a police officer “dragged him by force into an office” and demanded that he write a “voluntary statement” terminating his land lease.

“I have five hectares of orchards with apricot, apple, and cherry trees. I have poor hearing and am classed as a disabled person. The deputy police chief dragged me into his office by force, ignored my disability, and said: ‘Go wherever you want — to court or to the prosecutor — we will take the land anyway. We have been ordered to do so.’ They are destroying people’s work and leaving them without jobs. The president says, ‘Create one job and I will give you money.’ I have been growing these seedlings for seven or eight years, watering them drop by drop. There is no water, so I pump it with a diesel engine. The president has decreed that cutting down even one tree results in a fine, and now they want to destroy 400 trees. I am also an entrepreneur, I pay taxes, and I work the land,” Kurbonov said.

Commenting on the situation in Khavast district, Kamoliddin Ikramov, head of the Agribusiness Association, said that the farmers’ plight is the result of problems that have accumulated in the cotton sector over several years.

“If ten farmers go bankrupt, that could be their personal failure. But if 110 farmers go bankrupt, this is a systemic problem,” Ikramov said.

“Farmers in Khavast are said to be deeply in debt. But why? Many of them bought land from a bankrupt cluster through auctions — they paid for it. Why are they in debt now? Because the clusters they delivered their cotton to did not pay them on time. And who recommended those clusters to them? The hokimiyat. Farmers were told: ‘This is a good cluster. It has money. It pays on time. It doesn’t cheat.’ Who is responsible for the massive losses? If 110 farmers have gone bankrupt, that is not a coincidence. Someone must be held accountable,” he added.

Ikramov’s questions have been echoed across farmers’ Telegram groups but remain unanswered as the local court in Khavast district continues to issue rulings to seize their land.

“That day, we stood near the hokimiyat building and watched the farmers coming and going — all of them looked crushed. The press service of the hokimiyat seemed to want to say something but had nothing to say,” wrote the journalist who recently spoke with farmers on site.

This article is based on materials published by Kun.uz:

https://kun.uz/kr/news/2026/01/24/110-ta-fermer-bankrot-bolsa-bu-tizimning-muammosi-faollar