Budget Support for the development of the Uzbekistan¿s agri-food sector and resilient rural livelihoods The overall objective of this action is ¿to contribute to the development of a sustainable market oriented and inclusive agri-food system that will increase farm income, expand rural livelihood opportunities and enhance food security for smallholder farmers, women and the most vulnerable groups in Uzbekistan¿. The specific objectives are to: 1) Support the implementation framework of the agri-food development strategy, enabling inclusive development of a climate smart agri-food system; and 2) Support sustainable livelihood opportunities, decent jobs and access to markets for the most vulnerable (smallholders, MSMEs, youth, women, disabled, migrants). The action shall be instrumental in sustaining the pace of reforms defined in the Uzbekistan Agri-food Development Strategy 2020-2030, and also in facilitating implementation of reforms in the area of Public Finance Management, budget transparency and oversight, and effective measures for the macro-economic stability. The EU remains keen to promote a healthy, environmentally sustainable and fair food system that takes into consideration climate change and biodiversity, and supports the livelihoods, market inclusion and competitiveness of smallholder farmers, and in particular, women, youth, and the most vulnerable. This should contribute as well to addressing the challenge of labour migration, originating predominantly from the rural areas of the country. The outputs of the Agri-food strategy buttressed through the budget support, will also reinforce government¿s actions aimed at improving food security and nutrition, complying with international standards for food safety, and at creating a demand responsive agricultural innovation that promotes climate smart, and digital solutions. The complementary capacity building component of this action will strengthen key institutional functions for strategic planning, the integrated management of development programmes, statistics and digital tools, advisory and business support services at central and local levels, and will contribute to better inter-institutional coordination of reform efforts. The assistance will be also provided to build capacities for trade and enhancing the potential for benefiting from the GSP+. It will also further promote the private-public dialogue, and involvement in the sector governance of the civil society and farmer associations. The action reflects the commitment that the Government of Uzbekistan has towards economic liberalisation, WTO accession, gender equality, transition to a green economy, and the Paris Agreement, as overarching policy directions. It is well aligned with EU policies and responds to the demand of counterparts for sharing the EU know-how, in particular as related to the development of fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems (¿EU Farm to Fork Strategy¿ and the European Green Deal), support to family farming, food safety and integration into the global markets. The Action will target primarily SDG 2 Enhance food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, and SDG 8 Promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth through increased productive employment and decent work for men and women. It also intends to contribute to SDGs 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 13, and 15.&nbsp;