– Please tell us briefly about your professional background and how you came to hold your current position. What skills help you perform your duties effectively?
– I work as the assistant to the hokim of Bulungur District of Samarkand Region in the "Fozil Yuldosh" mahalla. Before that, I served as Deputy Director for Vocational Training at Vocational School No. 2 of Bulungur District. The experience I gained in teaching proved useful in training unemployed residents of the mahalla, helping them acquire the knowledge and skills needed to obtain a profession. My degree in economics enabled me to contribute to developing entrepreneurial skills among the population.
– What was the most challenging part at the beginning of your journey?
– Any new job tends to seem difficult at first. Once you begin, you get drawn into the process, work on yourself and gradually overcome the challenges. That is exactly what happened to me. We conducted a household survey to assess the general situation. After that, systematic work began to resolve the issues identified by the survey. I developed an action plan addressing all identified problems and worked step by step to resolve them. We sought solutions by sending official inquiries to higher-level organisations as required. Today, these issues are being resolved, the number of entrepreneurs is growing, new jobs are being created, and unemployment is declining.
– Please describe your mahalla in detail, including local infrastructure (roads, schools, kindergarten, clinic, industrial facilities) and employment opportunities for the population.
– Our mahalla is located 18 km from the district centre and includes 1,338 households. The population is 7,175 people. The territory of the Citizens’ Assembly contains 27 main streets, most of which are asphalted. Social infrastructure includes 3 schools, a music and art school, and 2 kindergartens.
Most of the population is engaged in farming. Residents mainly grow tomatoes on their home plots and leased lands. In 2024, a tomato market was established in the mahalla, from which tomatoes are supplied to all regions of the country. In addition, in cooperation with Yangi Yul Agro Star LLC, tomatoes are dried naturally under the sun, creating a local dried tomato production line. As a result, 150 seasonal jobs have been created for women and youth.
Together with local residents and the Navobot poultry farm, poultry farming has been developed. The farm provides day-old chicks and feed free of charge. Residents raise the chicks at home for 40 days and then sell the grown birds back to the farm. This cooperative model helps provide employment for the unemployed.
Moreover, a “Entrepreneurship Centre” has been established in the mahalla, equipped with machinery and tools provided to unemployed residents through subsidies from the Poverty Reduction and Employment Department. The centre currently operates in six areas.
– What new economic opportunities did you identify through the household survey?
– The study showed that small-scale production can be organised within households based on existing skills, yielding substantial results. For example, processing dairy products within households, building greenhouses, expanding poultry and livestock farming, and adopting innovative approaches can significantly increase annual household income.
– What are the key drivers of economic development in the mahalla? Why were these particular areas chosen? What is being done to accelerate their development?
– If previously the main drivers were farming, tomato cultivation and tomato drying, today we are also adding tourism and the service sector to the list. The mahalla has a museum dedicated to the renowned folk storyteller Fozil Yuldosh ogli. We selected one of the streets leading to this museum and are developing a project to transform it into a 24-hour service street. All houses along the street will host shops, eateries and various service points. Concrete channels have already been installed along the street, and the road has been fully re-asphalted. Entrepreneurial activities are already taking shape along this street.
– Please tell us about entrepreneurship development initiatives in your mahalla during your tenure. How many new enterprises have been created, and how many individual entrepreneurs have gained employment?
– Our mahalla has all the necessary conditions for entrepreneurship development. Its favourable location plays a key role: a road leading to Bakhmal District of Jizzakh Region passes through the centre, with heavy daily traffic, creating advantages for business. For this reason, we are establishing new business entities along this main street.
In the industrial sector, enterprises producing construction materials have been created, including cinder blocks, facade slabs, foam blocks and gypsum blocks.
In cooperation with the regional branches of Xalq Bank, the National Bank and the Business Development Bank, active work is being carried out to develop entrepreneurship. Currently, the mahalla hosts 22 small businesses, 62 individual entrepreneurs, 49 trade and service entities, and 6 manufacturing enterprises. More than 450 residents work in these businesses. In addition, since the beginning of 2025, 60 micro-projects have been implemented in residential areas of the mahalla, providing employment for 120 residents.
– Was there a case where you supported a vulnerable family or a young entrepreneur and truly changed their life?
– In 2025, special attention was given to youth employment, and we partnered with Aloqabank. As a result, 24 young residents received vocational training, after which the bank helped them obtain unsecured concessional loans of up to 100 million sum to implement their entrepreneurial projects. These individuals are now running their own businesses. For example, Usmonov Begali received 100 million sum for developing automobile maintenance services, while Suyunov Mehroj received a concessional loan of 32 million sum for a freight transport business.
The full version of the interview is available at: here
Jamoliddin Turdimov, CERR
"Economic Review" Journal №10/2025
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