Farmers in the Syrdarya region of Uzbekistan report that local authorities are seizing their land plots, citing the need to settle debts. They suspect that the land is being transferred to Chinese investors. Similar cases are occurring in other regions of the country, as noted by Azattyk Asia.
The situation with land disputes, which has affected eastern Uzbekistan, has also reached the Syrdarya region. Local farmers claim that authorities are resorting to legal processes and administrative pressure to transfer agricultural land plots to foreign investors, particularly Chinese ones.
Gairat Usmonov, a farmer from the Khavast district, recounts that in 2021 he lost his leased land when authorities transferred it to a Saudi investor. After three years of legal battles, he managed to temporarily regain the plot in 2025, as the investor abandoned it.
However, Usmonov claims that local authorities are once again trying to seize his land, this time allegedly for Chinese investors.
He states that the khokimiyat accused him of illegally growing rice, which, according to the terms of his contract, is grounds for terminating the lease. Under Uzbek law, agricultural land can be leased for up to 49 years, and the state has the right to annul the contract in case of violations, such as non-payment of rent or misuse.
The farmer asserts that he has never engaged in rice cultivation, yet the case was brought to court, where these accusations became the basis for terminating the contract.
“Facts are not considered,” Usmonov says in an interview with the Uzbek service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Ozodlik). “The court always sides with the authorities.”
Usmonov's story is just one of many cases that have emerged since the adoption of the law on the establishment of regional “directorates” last May.
Officials claim that the new policy aims to recover debts and improve land use; however, farmers who spoke with Ozodlik (many of them on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals) believe that it actually serves as a tool to displace locals from their lands, which they have cultivated for many years, with subsequent transfer to foreign investors.
Usmonov and other farmers from the Khavast district report that since January, a large-scale campaign to seize land has begun. More than a dozen farmers told Ozodlik that nearly half of the farms in the district could be transferred to the state land reserve under the new system.
“The land goes from the farmer to the state reserve, then to the directorate, to the investor,” one farmer tells Ozodlik. “However, no one cares about the fate of the person who finds themselves in this situation.”
PATH FOR CHINESE INVESTORS
Although farmers claim that the main beneficiaries of land transfers in the Syrdarya region are Chinese companies, authorities do not confirm such statements.
Nevertheless, last year Ozodlik reported that agricultural lands in several districts of the Andijan region were being transferred to Chinese investors.
After the publication, this practice briefly ceased, but farmers assert that pressure resumed with the introduction of the directorate system. Ozodlik investigated this system in January and found that directorates began leasing land seized from farmers to Chinese investors.
Since the introduction of the law on the establishment of directorates, new offices have been opened in seven regions of Uzbekistan — Andijan, Jizzakh, Namangan, Syrdarya, Tashkent, Fergana, and Kashkadarya — which control land use and the transfer of agricultural lands for subleasing to local and foreign investors.
The main foreign investors in Uzbekistan's agriculture are from China, which is actively involved in this sector, providing financing, infrastructure, and technology. In 2024, Uzbekistan approved a $220 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China for the implementation of irrigation projects to be carried out by Chinese state companies such as CITIC Construction and China CAMC Engineering.
Throughout 2025, delegations from Chinese agro-companies and local authorities visited various regions of Uzbekistan, and in December, a group of officials from the Syrdarya region traveled to China to deepen agricultural cooperation.
Farmers from the Khavast district told Ozodlik that initially, Chinese investors were offered unused or degraded plots, such as overgrown lands or abandoned fields, but they refused.
“They were looking for fertile lands that were already being cultivated — those lands that our farmers have improved over the years despite difficult conditions,” noted one farmer.
Local farmers estimated that this year in the Khavast district, up to 17,000 hectares of land are planned to be transferred, most of which will fall into the new directorate system and ultimately into the hands of foreign investors.
According to their estimates, this process will affect about 300 farms, as well as more than 10,000 hectares that have already been seized since the end of 2024 through court decisions or under pressure from authorities.
“I WILL TAKE EVERYTHING”
Farmers with experience interacting with the new directorates claim that the system operates with the knowledge or approval of high-ranking officials, including the khokim of the region, Erkinjon Turdimov.
Manuchehr Mirzaev, Turdimov's press secretary, did not respond to Ozodlik's requests for comments regarding the situation with land seizures and pressure on farmers.
One farmer from the Khavast district, who spoke with Ozodlik, recounted a shocking meeting with regional officials, where they were made to wait for several hours. At the meeting, Turdimov immediately began threatening the farmers.
“One farmer reported that he owed one billion soms ($81,330) for drip irrigation and is gradually paying off the debt, to which the khokim replied: ‘You will end up on the street. I will take everything from you, even your house,’” the farmer describes the situation.
Farmers claim that they are given a choice: either voluntarily transfer the land, receiving a promise to settle debts, or refuse and face legal battles and confiscation of the plot.
According to one farmer, during the meeting, police were stationed at the doors, preventing people from leaving the room. Farmers were called in one by one and forced to sign documents.
Those who refused to sign quickly faced consequences.
“The next day, property confiscations began,” says the farmer. “Officials would come into homes and take everything they could — televisions, livestock, and other property.”
PRESSURE FROM ABOVE
Authorities claim that land seizures are justified by the enormous debts accumulated by farmers.
In a statement published on the Telegram channel of the district administration, representatives of the authorities reported that farmers in the district owed 40 billion soms ($3.2 million) in taxes and 128 billion soms ($10 million) to banks, and hundreds of cases are under consideration. They also confirmed that they had filed lawsuits for the termination of lease agreements with at least 110 farming households.
Farmers and experts note that the statement does not explain how these debts were formed and how local authorities and agricultural associations are involved.
Agricultural associations in Uzbekistan are state-controlled and closely linked to local authorities.
Economist Otabek Bakirov emphasizes that the agricultural system itself puts farmers in a debt dependency.
In an interview with Ozodlik, he noted that in the harvest seasons of 2024 and 2025, many farmers “did not receive full payment from cotton and grain clusters” from regional associations, which led to delays in fertilizer supplies and, consequently, reduced yields.
“Most farmers ended up in debt,” explains Bakirov.
Local authorities assure that allocating more agricultural land to foreign investors will stimulate economic development. However, the implementation of these plans often leads to the displacement of local farmers. Villagers often have no alternative means of earning a living.
Farmers estimate that the loss of about 300 farms in the Khavast district could leave thousands of families without livelihoods.
“Farmers are leaving, workers are leaving, villages are emptying,” says one local resident. “Migration is increasing. Investors come and go, and we are left with nothing.”
As information about pressure on farmers in the Khavast district spreads, the government in Tashkent has begun to show signs of political pushback.
Parliamentarians from the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan have addressed Turdimov with an official request for clarification regarding the situation with farmers in the Khavast district.
No response has yet been received from the khokim.
