We analyze the shifting selections and roles of knowledge in rapidly evolving rural governance, exemplified by the complex transition of land governance in Khorezm, a province of Uzbekistan. Through a study of the evolution of various organizations involved in land governance at different...

In this paper, we investigate the utility of Knorr-Cetina's theory of epistemic cultures and knowledge cultures for the analysis of rural transition in post-socialist countries. We look at the evolution of agricultural expertise in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia, with a special interest in...

In 2008, the BMBF-funded, interdisciplinary research project ‘Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and Water Use in the Region Khorezm (Uzbekistan)' initiated a participatory approach to innovation development and diffusion with local stakeholders. Since mid 2008, four selected...

Despite the end of the Soviet era, cotton production continues to play a major role for the economies of Central Asia, regularly named the "white gold" of Uzbekistan. The present paper looks at the current system of cotton production as state-order crop in Uzbekistan and discusses possibilities...

In 2008, the BMBF-funded, interdisciplinary research project ‘Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and Water Use in the Region Khorezm (Uzbekistan) initiated a participatory approach to innovation development and diffusion with local stakeholders. Since mid 2008, four selected...

Khorezm region is located in the northwest of Uzbekistan, approximately 350 km from the current shore of the Aral Sea. It comprises a large-scale irrigation system which conveys water from the river Amudarya to agricultural land cropped mainly with cotton, wheat, and rice. Khorezm's water...

As part of the ongoing process of agricultural transformation in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, agricultural service organisations are undergoing a process of reinventing themselves. This paper aims to analyse this process by offering empirical insight into a machine-tractor-park (MTP) in...