2.2.2 Leasehold rights of farmers Land Code Leasehold rights of farmers are weak and subject to arbitrary violations, as evidenced by multiple incidents of illegal expropriation of land over the last two decades by government officials. Illegal expropriation of land has intensified since privatisation of the agriculture sector began in 2018. According to article 36 of Uzbekistan’s Land Code,27 the grounds for the termination of the right to land plots, including for farmers, are based on their land lease agreements. The land lease agreement for agricultural land can be terminated for the following reasons: It was noted in the previous section that all land in Uzbekistan up until 2021 was defined as national wealth managed by the state. While a legal procedure has now been established for privatising non-agricultural land, agricultural land remains state owned and is allocated to the private sector by the state through leasehold tenure. • voluntary refusal from the land plot; According to the Uzbek law On Farming, a farm is a business entity engaged in the production of agricultural products using land plots provided on lease.25 It can conduct commercial agricultural production using the land plots leased to it on a long-term basis of 30 years.26 Beginning on 1 March 2024, agricultural land plots are leased through online electronic auctions. The size of farms will vary depending on the type of crops that are cultivated, which are primarily wheat and cotton. The law On Farming regulates the procedure for establishing farms. • poor management of the land plot resulting in reduced soil fertility and health; There are two laws that set out the conditions under which a land lease may be terminated: the Land Code and the law On Farming. Both lay out specific circumstances that can give rise to a lawful termination of a land lease, which can only be done via a court order. However, a government decree On Additional Measures to Optimize the Land Areas of Farms and Other Agricultural Enterprises of 9 January 2019 was adopted, which in essence violates these two laws and became the basis for what appears to be mass illegal land lease terminations and confiscation of farmers’ land. 16 A False Sense of Legality • use of the land plot other than for its intended purpose; • irrational use of the land plot, which for agricultural land is determined by yields based on cadastral assessments that fall below the normative level for three years; • systematic failure to pay land tax and rent; • failure to use farmland plots provided for agriculture purposes within one year; • exclusion of membership of a farmer from the Farmers Council, which is obligatory for all farmers. Legislation may provide for other cases of termination of the right of possession and the right of permanent use and lease of land plots. Individuals and legal entities may appeal against government decisions in court, including the decision to terminate the right of possession or the right of permanent or temporary use of land plots.