Success of first worker group will determine future U.S. labor quotas for Uzbekistan – Musayev

Uzbekistan is working with U.S.-based USA Farm Labor on a pilot project that could allow Uzbek citizens to take up seasonal farm jobs in the United States with an average monthly salary of about $3,500, Migration Agency head Bekhzod Musayev told Kun.uz.

Musayev said that an agreement has already been signed online and that quotas are currently being determined under the pilot project.

Earlier, Musayev held talks with USA Farm Labor head Manuel Fick, during which the sides discussed procedures for engaging Uzbek workers in seasonal agricultural work in the United States.

“We can consider this a major achievement. USA Farm Labor is an organization that brings together farmers across the United States,” Musayev said. “They have mainly attracted labor from Latin America, but Uzbekistan has now been included among the countries from which workers will be recruited.”

He noted that closer, friendly, and strategic ties between Uzbekistan and the United States in recent years have opened new opportunities in this area.

According to Musayev, the performance of the first group of workers will be key to the project’s future.

“As this is a new workforce and a new country for them, everything will depend on how the first group performs – their work ethic, responsibility, compliance with the law, and ability to integrate,” he said. “If we can demonstrate this, quotas can be increased year by year.”