Specific Features of Agricultural Land Use and Protection
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17605/cajssh.v7i2.1286Keywords:
land, rational use of land, agricultural landAbstract
Due to the decisive role of agricultural land in the economic stability, food security and environmental sustainability of Uzbekistan, its rational use and legal protection are among the most urgent national priorities. Continual use, unplanned utilization, the processes of erosion, and the impoverishment of fertility of soil threaten the long-term productivity of agricultural land and ultimately the sustainability of agriculture even after reforms. The paper reflects an approach to filling the gap between the efforts of strategic planning in agricultural development and the implementation effectiveness of land protection tools, particularly in terms of ensuring protection of irrigated lands and preventing unreasonable withdrawal of land from agricultural turnover.
The methodological basis of the research includes statistical analysis of indicators of national land fund, comparative legal analysis of the land legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the systems analysis. Data as of the present day indicate that agricultural lands account for 58.41 percent of all land in the country, with agricultural businesses using more than 21.3 million hectares — including 3.74 million hectares of irrigated land. It also explains the legal formulation and classification of agricultural lands, from the differentiation of agricultural land vs. land in the service of agriculture, the irrigated and non-irrigated area.
The results reaffirm that irrigated lands are unique and should be protected; there are legal restrictions on their reclassification with some exceptions. Retrogressive comparison with Kazakhstan and Russia shows the similarity of approaches regarding the specific types of lands (agricultural land) and their state protection. Our findings are aligned with the policy emphasis on purpose based land use, lease based allocation, state support for farm fertility, transparency of land status information, and need for specialist regulatory acts that can promote the sustainable governance of land.
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