In the Andijan region, rising tension persists: local farmers report pressure from authorities demanding the "voluntary" transfer of land. Many fear that these plots will be handed over to Chinese investors, writes Ozodlik.
Farmers assert that part of their land has already been leased to Chinese investors. Officials claim that the land transfer process is voluntary and legal, and that the plots are not being transferred to foreign owners, including Chinese citizens. However, farmers engaged in cotton and other crop cultivation report intimidation and nighttime visits from officials demanding land transfers, which deprive them of their livelihoods.
According to the country's legislation, private ownership of agricultural land is absent, and farmers lease state land for up to 49 years. The government has the right to terminate the contract only in cases of payment delays or voluntary relinquishment of land.
Interviews with farmers and comments from officials published by the Uzbek service of RFE/RL (Radio Ozodlik) show that in the Fergana Valley, where cotton is grown, local authorities use intimidation and secrecy to pressure farmers to lease their land to Chinese investors.
Zoirdzhon Gapparov, head of a large farming enterprise in the Kurghantepa district, reported that he was forcibly taken to the district administration. "They said the president ordered our land to be given to the Chinese," he noted.
After he refused to sign an agreement to transfer the land, police officers began to regularly visit his fields and attempted to intimidate workers into signing statements about illegal leasing.
When Gapparov approached the authorities in September 2025, he was told that his land had already been redistributed.
“They said I am no longer a farmer, and my land has been given to the Chinese, even though I have all the documents,” he added.
NEW LAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Ozodlik reported last year that in several districts of the Andijan region, land is being transferred to Chinese companies. Although the land transfer was temporarily suspended after the publication, farmers claim that pressure resumed a few months later.
China is the largest foreign investor in Uzbekistan, accounting for a significant portion of capital inflow and new projects. However, the deepening Chinese presence raises concerns among local farmers, especially due to the preferential allocation of land to foreign investors.
Dilmurod Khojamberdiev, head of the agriculture department of the Kurghantepa district, who informed Gapparov about the transfer of his land, noted that the land was leased to the Chinese, but they do not have ownership rights.
“The land was transferred to a directorate established by the government. The law does not allow agricultural land to be transferred to foreigners,” he said.
When asked if Chinese companies operated in the area last year, Khojamberdiev confirmed that they leased land from the directorate.
In May 2025, a government decree was adopted establishing such directorates in the Andijan region and six other regions.
Each directorate, consisting of five employees, is authorized to monitor land use and lease agricultural plots to local or foreign investors "in accordance with the law."
According to the National Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, by December 2024, there were 17,900 enterprises with foreign participation in the country, of which 4,873 had Chinese capital. The share of Chinese companies is growing: by the end of 2025, more than 1,500 additional enterprises were registered.
“VOLUNTARY ONLY ON PAPER”
Other farmers also share similar stories to Gapparov's.
Azizakhon Ergashova, head of the farm "Azizabonu Durdonasi," told Ozodlik that she was taken from her home at night and forced to sign a statement transferring 40 hectares of land for cotton cultivation "to the Chinese." “I was sick and tired. In the end, I signed. It was voluntary only on paper,” she noted.
Khojamberdiev, the head of the district agriculture department, claims that land is only seized from farmers with debts or those who have not met production plans.
He names Ergashova as one of the debtors. However, she asserts that officials intentionally inflated her debts by setting unrealistic cotton plans and creating problems with the drip irrigation project supported by the local administration.
“They forced us to sign contracts for 40 quintals of cotton per hectare, even though our soil could not yield such a harvest,” Ergashova explains.
A yield of 40 quintals of cotton per hectare is considered a high indicator, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
“We couldn't meet the plan and fell into debt. Then the company recommended for the installation of drip irrigation took my money and disappeared,” Ergashova continues. “They just dug a hole and ran away. And you know what? They were recommended by the district administration!”
Orifjon Kayumov, head of the district farmers' council linked to the authorities, stated that foreign investors, "including the Chinese," are currently not working on the seized plots.
“Land is seized only voluntarily or by court decision,” he added. “Farmers transfer it to reserve of their own accord. The khokim established an agricultural directorate, which now legally owns the land. We will see what happens in the spring.”
Farmers disagree with this statement and assert that they did not receive court summons and were forced to sign documents under pressure and threats of arrest.
Two farmers, wishing to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisals, told Ozodlik that they were taken to the police station and forced to sign "voluntary" statements about land transfer.
More than 20 farmers from Ergashova's district and about 50 across the Andijan region also claim to have lost money due to the same irrigation system supplier recommended by local authorities.
Ergashova claims that the 40 hectares officially transferred "for Chinese investments" were actually given to local businessman Bahodir Saidaliyev.
“He came and destroyed everything I built: the orchard and mulberry trees where I raised silkworms,” she says. “He promised to plant cherries, but instead, wild ones were planted, which dried up. Now the land is overgrown with weeds.”
