Knowledge exchange in a practical manner - Uzbek experts of the seed and livestock sector in Europe

19.07.2024
English

The German Uzbek Expert Dialogue for sustainable and climate resilient agriculture started in April 2023 financed by BMEL. The project aims to ensure sustainable, soil-protecting fodder production. The skills of small and medium-sized farms and research institutes to grow fodder and seeds based on agroecological principles are to be strengthened through extension, training, and practical trials. This should generally increase milk yield and production in the country. At the same time, the political framework conditions for sustainable feed and seed production are to be improved through dialog formats with decision-makers. Measures and activities applied in the program are for example the promotion of seed development and propagation for fodder production, as well as the improvement of breeding processes through institutional and practical cooperation in agriculture. Besides that, the program is active in e.g. extension service on forage production (soil analysis, climate-friendly soil cultivation, forage cultivation planning including intercropping) or the improvement of harvesting methods (harvesting time and methods, production of silage). The program promotes optimization of storage (management of silage areas, hay storage), and of feeding (feed rations, basic feed). 

Knowledge exchange between the countries is generated not only through dialogue formats, an important activity in the bilateral cooperation programs of the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture is the organization of study tours, where experts of the target countries go to different stakeholders of the sector in Germany.  

In June 2024, an Uzbek expert delegation from, amongst others, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Veterinary Committee of Uzbekistan, two operative partners of the project, as well as from seed testing institutes and the private sector visited different stakeholders of the German and Dutch dairy and seed sector to gather innovations and learn about state of the art technologies.  

The starting point was the “Grass Day” in Dronten, Netherlands. A Venue, comparable to the German DLG field days. The delegation was able to meet private companies of the sector like e.g. Pioneer to get insights into modern agricultural methods, connected to smart agriculture. In the following days, dutch seed companies like Barenbrug and Jordens were visited to get insights into relevant forage seed business. Khandam Karshiboev: “ It was important to see their demonstration fields and trails. This impressed me and I look forward to testing different seeds of forage crops within the Uzbek environmental conditions.” 

Continuing their journey on the German side, here farm visits to dairy farms were in focus of the visit. Interesting here was the huge level of automatization in the dairy sector for milking or feeding. Knowledge about breeding procedures, veterinary services or ratio calculations were exchanged.  

Also in Germany, important stakeholders of the seed sector were visited like Deutsche Saatveredlung in Lippstadt, a company active worldwide in terms of seed production in fodder crops, the Bundessortenamt in Hannover, which is responsible for variety testing in Germany and has an MoU with it´s Uzbek counterpart. Connected to this, the Institute for Seed and fertilizer testing of LUFA Nordwest in Hameln was visited. All these meetings and visits enabled the delegation to get a complete picture of the seed sector in Germany.  

Finally, it should be mentioned that Haus Düsse in Soest was visited, an important training center in the Livestock sector with a wide range of training options, which sees its tasks in imparting skills and knowledge in training and further education, in the development of practical, environmentally compatible and animal-friendly production methods for agriculture, in the testing of breeding animals and their offspring, origin testing, product testing for feedstuffs as well as in consumer information and public relations. Additionally, the Class production plant, in Harsewinkel was visited.  

Claas is currently the world market leader in the production of combined harvesters and is active worldwide in the production of agricultural machinery. 

The delegation has gained diverse impressions from a wide range of areas relevant to the program, takes innovations and knowledge back to Uzbekistan and spreads this knowledge in the respective sub-area to strengthen the Uzbek fodder, milk and seed production system.  

For more information about the program, please contact GOPA AFC´s project manager: Kai.Hollaender [at] gopa-afc.de