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Uzbekistan plans to completely abandon manual cotton harvesting from 2027 — minister
Starting in 2027, cotton in Uzbekistan is planned to be harvested exclusively by machine. On November 6, Agriculture Minister Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov announced this at a press conference, a Gazeta correspondent reports.
According to the minister, in 2026 the country grew more than 5 million tons of raw cotton, 75−80% of which was harvested using machinery. In the Syrdarya and Jizzakh regions, the harvest was fully mechanized.
This season, about 3000 cotton harvesters took part in the cotton harvest, half of which — 1500 units — were purchased this year.
«Our main strategic task is to completely abandon manual cotton picking. This starts with sowing: cotton must be grown in such a way that it can be harvested by machines. There are instructions from the president — cotton must be grown on an economically viable basis and harvested only by machines,» Abdurakhmonov said.
According to him, the share of manual labor this season was about 20−23%. It was used mainly on small plots and cotton fields between orchards, where large machinery cannot enter.
In response to a journalist’s question about the timing of full mechanization, the minister said: «Next year we will move to 100%.»
Almost 53 thousand hectares will no longer be used for cotton
According to the minister, the total area of cotton fields that harvesters cannot enter is about 53 thousand hectares.
Such land is planned to be gradually withdrawn from cotton cultivation and used for growing vegetables and other food crops.
«Growing cotton on plots of one to one and a half hectares, where machinery cannot enter, is simply not cost-effective. We will allocate these lands for vegetables and other food crops,» Abdurakhmonov said.
Speaking about the preservation of manual labor, the minister emphasized that this year the ministry did not issue instructions to involve the population in cotton picking on a compulsory basis.
According to him, in some cases members of farmers’ families took part in the harvest, being interested in earning additional income.
«We did not instruct anyone to force people to pick cotton. If members of a farmer’s family took part in the harvest out of their own interests — that is a different matter,» he noted.
At the same time, the head of the Agriculture Ministry acknowledged that the transition to machine harvesting should not lead to a loss of income for people previously employed in cotton fields.
In his view, the reduced need for cotton pickers must be accompanied by the creation of new jobs in the textile industry. Increasing the processing of cotton fiber should ensure the workload of enterprises and additional employment.
«In New Uzbekistan, the days when cotton was picked by hand, bent over in the fields, are over. If the volume of cotton fiber increases, textile enterprises will be able to work without interruption. This will create opportunities for new jobs,» the minister said.
He noted that just ten years ago almost the entire harvest was picked by hand, and the level of mechanization did not even reach 25%.
In his assessment, manual picking had previously been preferred because this method was considered necessary to preserve the high quality of cotton fiber and sell it at a higher price.
Where cotton harvesters are produced
At the press conference, journalists also asked about the quality of machine harvesting, in particular whether part of the crop remains in the fields after the combines pass through.
Abdurakhmonov said that modern cotton harvesters make it possible to avoid such losses.
«Cotton does not remain in the field at all. New technologies make it possible to harvest it completely and cleanly. Today’s machines are not like the old ones; cotton does not fall to the ground,» the minister said.
According to him, cotton harvesting equipment is also produced in Uzbekistan itself in cooperation with Chinese companies.
In particular, joint ventures with FM World have been established in Kashkadarya region, and with Swan — in the Fergana Valley. In addition, agricultural machinery production has been set up at the tractor plant in cooperation with Chinese partners.
«Forced and child labor are unacceptable»
The press conference separately discussed the issue of preventing forced and child labor during the cotton harvest campaign.
Press secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Dilshod Nazirov said that the ministry strictly monitors the involvement of minors in work in cotton fields.
«Child labor in any form is under strict control. Explanations that a child came after school just to visit someone or bring food are not accepted,» he said.
According to Nazirov, manual picking was allowed only on technological strips 11 meters wide, intended for turning and passing cotton harvesters.
He added that the ministry had appealed to special groups of the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the prevention of involving children, students and people with deteriorating health in cotton picking. Among the categories mentioned by the ministry representative were also women.
Plans for mechanizing cotton farming
Plans to switch to machine cotton harvesting have been announced repeatedly by the authorities of Uzbekistan over the past 13 years.
In October 2013, then Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced plans to raise the level of cotton harvest mechanization to 80−90% by 2016. At that time, more than 1000 cotton harvesters were operating in the fields, and another 3000 were planned to be produced over the following year.
In October 2017, former Deputy Prime Minister, head of Uzagrotehsanoatholding Nodir Otajonov said that mechanization of the cotton harvest campaign would reach 80% within five years. It was expected that already in 2018 this figure would reach 80% in Syrdarya region.
In December 2019, Otajonov reported that starting in 2020 the level of machine harvesting in Tashkent, Syrdarya, Jizzakh and Kashkadarya regions should reach 50%, and in subsequent years — 80%.
In January 2020, the government adopted Resolution No. 21, which provided for the accelerated introduction of machine cotton harvesting in two stages:
- in 2020−2022 — in Tashkent, Syrdarya, Jizzakh and Kashkadarya regions;
- in 2023−2026 — in the other regions of the country.
In April 2020, the president instructed to accelerate the mechanization of cotton harvesting, deliver at least 1000 cotton harvesters to the regions by September, and organize service centers.
In February 2026, at a meeting with the president, it was reported that 1756 cotton harvesters had been purchased in previous years, thanks to which the level of mechanization reached 52%. During the 2025 season, 2.1 million tons of cotton were harvested with the help of machinery.
At that time, the task was set to raise the share of machine harvesting to at least 70%. To this end, in 2026 it was planned to purchase another 800 cotton harvesters, as well as 6000 seeders, tractors and combines.
What the World Bank previously said
In 2016, the World Bank published a study «Assessment of the Social Impact of Cotton Harvest Mechanization in Uzbekistan».
The document noted that Uzbekistan remained one of the few cotton-producing countries where the overwhelming majority of the crop was harvested by hand. According to the researchers’ estimates, between 2.2 and 3 million people took part in the 2014 cotton harvest campaign.
The authors of the study pointed out that mechanization would reduce the need for mass labor mobilization, including mobilization by local authorities. However, they also warned of possible negative consequences for rural residents for whom seasonal cotton picking was an important source of cash income.
In 2021, the international coalition Cotton Campaign lifted the boycott on Uzbek cotton, which had been in place since 2011 because of the systematic use of forced labor.
