Strengthening of Food Security Through Development of Digital Technologies in the Food Production and Processing Chain

The article focuses on strengthening food security through the development of digital technologies in the food production and processing chain in Uzbekistan. In particular, the factors influencing food security in sustainable industrial and agricultural development were assessed. Issues on digitalization of food production and processing chain, strengthening of food supply and safety by improving the organizational and economic mechanisms of "smart agriculture" and "smart industry" within the framework of the concepts of "Agriculture 4.0" and "Industry 4.0" are reviewed. Attention is also paid to increasing the efficiency of production through the introduction of modern digital technologies.


INTRODUCTION
The issues of sustainable food supply and security are becoming one of the global problems.In recent years, the level of hunger and poverty has increased due to various crises, climate changes, political tensions and wars, and pandemics, which have occurred in the world.According to joint research by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO): global levels of hunger and malnutrition are higher than before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; 690 to 783 million people in the world in 2022 suffered from hunger, which is 122 million more than before the pandemic; Although the rate of increase in hunger fell by 3.8 million people in 2022 compared to 2021, rising energy and food prices are again complicating the situation due to wars and other conflicts around the world.Due to the high cost of healthy food almost 3 billion people in the world with high poverty and income inequality will not be able to eat enough and 11.7% of the world's population may face food insecurity in the future (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2023).
The United Nations General Assembly in 2015 identified food security and sustainable agriculture as one of the 17 global objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): "Eliminate hunger, ensure food security, improve nutrition and promote the sustainable development of agriculture" (United Nations, 2015).Therefore, agriculture and food production are becoming the most important issues today.According to the World Bank "agriculture is the largest sector of and the largest employer in Uzbekistan's economy, and has a large role to play in reducing poverty and inequality through job creation" (World Bank, 2020).
The issue of ensuring global food security is primarily linked to the modernization and digitization of production in the food production and processing chain, including the introduction of "Smart Industry" and "Smart Agriculture" within the concepts of "Industry 4.0" and "Agriculture 4.0" [1][2][3] 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Some international organizations and national and foreign scientists have conducted scientific research on the issues of ensuring global food supply and safety and introducing digital technologies in the food production and processing chain.In particular, in this regard, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Children's Fund of the United Nations (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well such scientists as D. Krigs, K. Robert, T. Parris, S. Gryaznov, N. Trendov, S. Varas, M. Tszen, D.Ilina, E. Yusupov, D. Djalolova and others can be acknowledged.
Research, conducted by Griggs D. and scientists group shows that "further human pressure risks causing widespread, abrupt and possibly irreversible changes to basic Earth-system processes.Water shortages, extreme weather, deteriorating conditions for food production, ecosystem loss, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise are real dangers that could threaten development and trigger humanitarian crises across the globe.The growing affluence and the right to development among the world's poor demand that people of all nations make the transition to sustainable lifestyles (Griggs D. et al., (2013).
According to Robert K., Parris T., and Leiserowitz A. "a minimal sustainability transition would be one in which the world provides the energy, materials, and information to feed, nurture, house, educate, and employ the many more people of 2050 -while reducing hunger and poverty and preserving the basic life support systems of the planet" (Robert K., et al., 2005).
As S. Gryaznov pointed out, realizing the consequences caused by "smart industry" requires a deeper understanding of the relationship between business and society.The 4th industrial revolution is not only a technological but also a social problem that requires a serious approach to understand the implications behind the incoming "high technologies" (S.Gryaznov, 2021).
According to FAO research, "digitalization and automation of food production chain can be an important factor in the implementation of SDG's First Goal "End poverty" and the Second Goal "End hunger" as well as environmental sustainability and climate change.This can be achieved by ensuring stability to external influences, efficient use of resources, and improving the quality and safety of food products (FAO, 2022).
According to research conducted by experts from the United States Agency for International Cooperation (USAID), the spread of mobile technologies, remote data transmission, and processing services in the agri-food sector is currently changing food producers' access to information, production resources, markets and financial services, and education.increasing the chances of getting.Digital technologies are creating new opportunities for smallholder farms to integrate into digital agri-food systems (USAID, 2018).

DATA AND METHODOLOGY
In order to conduct the analysis, the following variables are taken: dependent variable -gross agricultural output in 2016 prices (Y) in billion sums; as factors influencing gross agricultural output -total area of crops, thousand hectares (X1); the value of investments in fixed assets attracted to the sector, billion sums (X2); the number of people employed in agriculture, thousand people (X3); the value of fixed assets of agriculture, billion sums (X4); the volume of mineral fertilizers applied to the sown area, thousand tons (X5); volume of water consumption in agriculture, mln.m3 (X6).Based on these, the following econometric model is developed: This model is to be analysed using OLS methodology.However, as OLS is based on several preliminary conditions, they are checked before and after regression.The dataset obtained is time-series.Thus, the stationarity and autocorrelation features must be analysed before the regression results are obtained.As the model is multivariate, multicollinearity problem is to be discussed.Heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation of error terms are also viewed after the regression.
One condition to be checked for in the case of time-series dataset is autocorrelation.To check for the autocorrelation in the dependent variable, a correlogram of autocorrelation function (AFC) is constructed using STATA.The graph is provided below: This is conducted using Durbin-Watson test in the post-estimation.The stationarity is another feature to be checked with the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test using STATA econometric tools package.The test conducts a hypothesis testing with the null hypothesis of having a unit root in the time series.Based on the ADF test results, it can be inferred that the dependent variable is stationary as the Z-statistic for the test is calculated to be 5.050 which is much bigger than the critical value.This indicates further analysis to be conducted is reliable in this regard [6][7][8][9].

ANAYSYS AND RESULTS
Research shows that agro-food systems are strongly linked to exposure to extreme climate change, conflict, and economic crises, exacerbating global problems such as growing income inequality, poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.Hunger and malnutrition lead to a decrease in people's ability to work and an increase in susceptibility to diseases, and ultimately to a deterioration in the quality of life, and remain an obstacle to the sustainable development of the world economy.As a result, it is increasingly difficult to provide humanity with safe and complete food, physically and economically.In particular, according to experts' estimates, by 2030 the number of people suffering from hunger in the world will be almost 600 million.This is 119 million more than the scenario created before the pandemic and wars.In addition: in 2022, 2.4 billion people in the world did not have access to enough safe and nutritious food; 148 million children under 5 years of age are stunted and 45 million are stunted due to malnutrition; in 2022, the proportion hungry people in the world population was 9.2% (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2023).
Within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, systematic measures are being implemented in the Republic of Uzbekistan to reduce poverty, eliminate hunger, and strengthen food security.As a result of the measures taken to strengthen food security in recent years Republic of Uzbekistan improved its position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) and in 2023 took 21st place out of 125 countries and was recognized as a country a low level of hunger with a score of 5.0 (Global Hunger Index (GHI), 2023).
Most of the "Sustainable Development Goals" of the UN, such as eliminating hunger and reducing poverty, preserving natural resources and protecting the environment, and adapting to climate change, are primarily related to agricultural development.It should be noted that 12 of the 17 global goals included in the SDG are directly or indirectly related to agrarian and food issues [10,11].
Low efficiency of use of land and water resources, reduction of arable land per capita, and large amounts of losses during harvesting, transportation, and storage processes are among the main causes of food shortage.According to UN forecasts, the world's population could reach 10 billion by 2050, complicating the task of providing adequate and quality food to the world's population in the face of increasing degradation of agricultural land and declining water resources.At a time when 2.6 billion, or more than 33% of the world's population live in rural areas, 52% of agricultural land has been severely degraded, resulting in a significant decline in soil fertility.As a result of drought and desertification, 12 million hectares of land (23 hectares per minute) are out of use every year.However, these areas could produce up to 20 million tons of grain per year.Land degradation is negatively affecting the living standards of 74% of the world's poor population.At the same time, such drastic changes in the planet's climate, "global warming" and environmental pollution will have an impact on agricultural productivity.1.3 billion tons of food, worth $1 billion, is lost every year due to defects in the collection, transportation, storage, and delivery of agricultural products (United Nations, 2015).
Food supply and security rely primarily on the potential of the agricultural sector.Although the share of gross agricultural output in the country's GDP fell from 34.4 to 25.1%, and the share of agriculture in the population employed in all sectors of the economy from 34.4 to 25.0% from 2000-2022, the agricultural sector remains one of the largest sectors of the economy of Uzbekistan (Table 1).
According to the Statistics Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, from 2000 to 2022 per capita production of wheat increased by 40.6%, vegetables by 191.8%, potatoes by 225.2%, melons by 271.0%, fruits   2).
The sustainable development of agriculture first of all envisages the optimal use of arable land, forests, and other natural resources necessary for food production with maximum efficiency and without harming the environment.If humanity does not use natural resources effectively, it will be difficult to fully meet the needs of today's population and provide for future generations.
As confirmed a scientific research conducted by Yusupov M., many factors affect the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.To determine the influence of various factors on the development of the agricultural sector for the period 2000-2016, the author used a multivariate econometric model.The model included the following factors: effective indicator -gross agricultural output in 2016 prices (Y) in billion sums; as factors influencing gross agricultural output -total area of crops, thousand hectares (X1); the value of investments in fixed assets attracted to the sector, billion sums (X2); the number of people employed in agriculture, thousand people (X3); the value of fixed assets of agriculture, billion sums (X4); the volume of mineral fertilizers applied to the sown area, thousand tons (X5); volume of water consumption in agriculture, mln.m3 (X6).
Calculations showed that there were the following interdependencies between the effective indicator (Y) and the factors influencing it: the investments in fixed assets (X2) (0.9649) and the amount of fixed assets in agriculture (X4) (0.9912) was dense; with the amount of population engaged in agriculture (X3) (0.8567) was average; with the volume of crops area (X1) (0.5451) was weak and with the volume of water consumption in agriculture was very weak (0.1559).
Based on the calculations made in the model, the average value of an increase in gross agricultural output (Y) as a result of changes in the influencing factors included in the model was calculated: According to this model ( 1), an increase in the value of fixed capital investment (X2) by one billion Uzbek soum may contribute to an increase in the value of gross agricultural output (Y) by 4.1346 billion soum; an increase in total crop area (X1) by 1,000 hectares to an increase by 2.6723 billion soum; an increase in the value of fixed assets (X4) by one billion soum to an increase by 1.5466 billion sum.The autocorrelation issue is further discussed through conducting Durbin-Watson test (DW).This test calculates the test statistics using the model errors.It is then compared to the test critical values.The DW test statistic is equal to 2.82, which is bigger than the DW critical value of 2.32 in the case of k=6 independent variables and n=17 observations.This indicates that the model is free from autocorrelation, signifying reliable results.
In this case: R2 = 0.9945, flattened R2 = 0.9911.Hence, the effective indicator is sufficiently closely related to the factors included in the model.That is, the change in the value of gross agricultural output depends on 99.45% of the factors included in the model, and the remaining 0.55% of factors are not taken into account (Yusupov M., 2018).
From the above model, it is clear that one of the most influential factors in the growth of gross agricultural output is investment in fixed capital in the sector.However, the issue of attracting private investments to the agricultural sector is extremely limited due to low profitability in the sector and slow capital turnover, as well as the lack of pledges to attract loans from commercial banks and international financial institutions.In the period 2000-2022, the share of agriculture in fixed capital investment remained on average 4.3% [12][13][14][15].
In particular, from 2005 to 2022, the share of centralized public investments in fixed capital in the agricultural sector financed from the state budget decreased from 28.6 to 9.1%, funds of enterprises and organizations decreased from 37.9 to 22.0%, while the share of foreign investments and loans increased from 15.1 to 32.3%, other sources increased from 3.1 to 22.5% (Table 3).
The issue of food security in the country depends primarily on the efficient use of agricultural arable land.Most of the available arable land in the country is more or less saline due to the proximity of groundwater and other reasons.According to The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the share of saline lands relative to total irrigated lands was 46.6% in 2022 (Table 4).
The high salinity of irrigated lands and low-quality indicators (with a score of 55 on a 100-point scale) hurt crop yields, leading to significant additional costs associated with the leaching of soil salinity and increasing soil fertility.According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 18.0% of total irrigated lands belong to poor and below-average category lands with class I-IV, 53.0% to average category lands with class V-VI, 29.0% to good category lands with class VII-X.It can be seen that the share of poor, below-average, and average lands is 71.0% of the total agricultural arable land area (Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2020).
According to the Ministry of Water Resources, to improve the reclamation of irrigated lands in the country, a total length of 142.9 thousand km, as well as 172 reclamation pumping stations, and 3,897 vertical drainage wells are used.During the period from 2008 to 2017, within the framework of the State Programs on Improvement of Irrigated Land Reclamation and Rational Use of Water Resources, more than 3.2 trillion sums were allocated from the state budget for the building and reconstruction of irrigation systems.In addition, 2.5 trillion sums were allocated for the construction and repair of land reclamation facilities during this period.However, despite large expenditures from the state budget and the special funds, it has been possible to reduce the salinity of irrigated lands by 5.2% over the last 12 years and this problem remains relevant (Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2020).
In recent years, the average annual volume of water resources used in Uzbekistan is 51-53 cubic kilometers, which indicates a significant reduction in total water intake (20%).90% of water resources are consumed by agriculture.At the same time, the population of the country will increase by an average of 650-700 thousand people a year and reach 39 million by 2030, and it is expected, that their demand for quality water will increase from 2.3 billion cubic meters to 2.7-3.0 billion cubic meters (18-20%) for this time.This leads to an increase in the demand for water in the utilities sector from year to year.In recent years, industrial and energy sectors have been actively developing, and their water demand is growing every year.It is estimated that the total annual water consumption of these sectors will increase from 1.9 billion cubic meters to 3.5 billion cubic meters (1.8 times) by 2030.
Over the last 40 years, the population of Uzbekistan increased from 15 to 36 million.As a result of this per capita water consumption decreased from 4403 to 1600 cubic meters in 1980-2019.Nevertheless, per capita water consumption in Uzbekistan remains high compared to developed countries, such as Switzerland -1000 cubic meters, Turkey -550 cubic meters, Germany -460 cubic meters, Israel -300 cubic meters, Singapore -45 cubic meters (Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2020).
As a result of the disproportionate distribution of water resources and the uneven complex relief of irrigated lands, about 60% of irrigated lands are supplied with water by 1,687 pumping aggregates, with an annual electricity consumption of 8 billion kWh.In addition, a total of 155.2 thousand km of irrigation networks and more than 10,280 pumping aggregates are used by water consumers' associations, farms, and clusters.The cost of water supply through the pumping aggregates is covered by the state budget of  Uzbekistan and a large amount of money is spent in this direction each year (Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2020).The high demand for irrigation water due to the obsolescence of irrigation methods in the face of scarcity of surface and groundwater resources is another obstacle to strengthening food security.In recent years, drip irrigation has become important as one of the effective options to reduce soil salinity, and increase soil fertility and crop yields (Table 5) [16][17][18][19].
The advantage of the widespread introduction of drip irrigation is that this technology, on the one hand, eliminates soil salinity, on the other hand, helps to eliminate the problem of water scarcity.According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, drip irrigation of vegetables and melons in the country will reduce water consumption by 50-55, labor consumption by 50-60, mineral fertilizers by 50% and increase productivity by 55-65%.
In addition: soil erosion stops, groundwater level and soil salinity decreases; soil does not harden, inter-row cultivation and tillage are reduced; fertilizer is applied with water, and its absorption rate increases; water evaporates less from the soil so that water does not flow in vain; the root layer of the crops is constantly supplied with moisture, allowing it to absorb water and nutrients.In this case, the plant directs all its energy to increase the yield.
One of the important factors strongly influencing the efficiency of agricultural production is fixed assets.To increase the efficiency of production, agriculture needs modern high-performance machines and equipment.But from the data of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, it is clear that most of the agricultural tractors and machinery have a service life of more than 10 years and this negatively affects the performance of this agricultural machinery (Table 6).
According to the Statistics Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2005-2020, the degree of depreciation of fixed assets in agriculture decreased from 29.2 to 14.7% (-14.7 p.p.), the degree of renewal increased from 7.8 to 27.8% ( 20.0 p.p.) (Table 7).
Despite the positive developments in this area, there is a shortage of tractors and agricultural machines during the preparation of land for sowing, vegetation, and harvesting season.
Along with the agricultural sector, the food industry is one of the important components of food production and supply chain.This network enables the production and export of finished products with high added value based on the processing of agricultural products, along with the supply of basic food products to the population.
The analysis of the indicators of the development of the food industry of Uzbekistan shows that in the analyzed years 2012-2022, the weight of  the production of food, drink, and tobacco products in the total industry decreased from 18.3 to 13.8% or 4.5 percent points (Table 8).
In order to establish the verification of the model developed in this work, the regression results with omission of statistically insignificant factors in the model.The results of this regression are provided in Table-9.It indicates that the coefficients and significance levels of the variables are stable.This means model results to be robust.
It is known from the analyzed Tables 1 and 2 that during 2012-2022, the food industry sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan showed stable growth trends in the production volume of food products.However, in the conditions of global changes in world development (pandemic, climate changes, political tensions and conflicts, economic crises), the efficiency indicators of agricultural and food industry sectors are low, which hurts ensuring stable food supply and security [20,21].
1. Factors negatively affecting the development of agriculture: -labor productivity in the agricultural branch ($2,247 per worker) is several times lower than in developed countries ($95,243 in Israel; $49,475 in France) ("BUYUK KELAJAK", 2019); -the use of old traditional methods in irrigation leads to excessive water consumption and the rise of underground groundwater, as a result of which more than 45 percent of the irrigated croplands become salinized and crop productivity decreases; -most agricultural producers do not have electronic platforms for agrochemical soil analysis, optimal placement of crops through satellite navigation systems, automatic feeding, and monitoring during the growing season; -most of the livestock work processes are performed manually, there is practically no use of advanced technologies that allow automatic feeding and control of livestock and other work processes.
-the agricultural equipment park is outdated (in 2022, 45% of plowing tractors, 59% of soil softening tractors, 41% of combine harvesters, 60% of cultivators, and 53% of plows have been in service for more than 11 years); -the level of providing the branch with high-performance and resourcesaving equipment and technologies (mechanization and automation) remains low; -most work processes in animal husbandry are carried out by hand, and advanced technologies for feeding and monitoring livestock and other work processes in animal husbandry in automatic mode are hardly used.

Factors negatively affecting the development of the food industry branch:
-the level of processing of agricultural raw materials does not correspond to the available opportunities and resources (in 2020, 6.1% of vegetables, 19.0% of fruits and berries, 9.2% of grapes, 5.8% of meat, and 15.3% of milk were processed); -the level of capacity utilization of processing enterprises is low, and they have a large amount of worn-out equipment (in 2020, the rate of wear of fixed assets related to the main activity was 34.3%, and the coefficient of withdrawal -7.5%); -there is a lack of "intelligent factories" based on world standards and modern digital technologies (fully automated robotic systems, "Big Data", "cloud technologies"); -there is insufficient development of modern production workshops, refrigeration chambers, sorting and packaging points, as well as special transport and logistics systems involved in their transportation, based on the cooperation of producers and processing enterprises of agricultural raw materials, connected through a single electronic platform, etc.
As a result, all this negatively affects the issues of stable food supply to the population of our republic in the medium and long term, strengthening food security, increasing employment and material well-being of the rural population, and creating a decent lifestyle for them.
According to scientists and experts the issue of ensuring global food supply and security can be resolved by introducing digital technologies and innovative solutions into networks, within the framework of concepts such as: "Agriculture 4.0"; "Industry 4.0"; "Smart Industry"; "Smart Agriculture".
Research conducted by I. Abdullayeva and B. Akhmedov shows, that by using "smart agriculture" the following results can be achieved: -"Smart greenhouses" make it possible to use fertilizers, chemicals, and water more efficiently, as well as optimize the number of personnel required to care for crops and reduce losses due to the human factor; they also allow you to control the entire watering process and microclimate.In addition, it is possible to monitor the profitability and quality of all systems, which allows you to increase productivity by 20-40% while improving the quality of the product produced and reducing costs; -drones and multicopters can be used to map crop areas.They can also create electronic 3D maps of fields, calculate fertilizer application rates, inspect fields and monitor the condition of crops, determine the level of plant temperature (especially during drought), monitor the operation of transport and agricultural machinery, protect the land, optimally use plant protection products and fertilizers; -smart farms can increase livestock productivity and product quality, as well as reduce costs.The use of automated feeding, milking, and animal health monitoring systems makes it possible to increase milk yield by 30-40 percent and effectively use the available feed supply (Abdullaeva I.M., Akhmedov B.R., 2020).
According to Tractica company estimates, by 2024, up to 594 thousand units of agricultural robots will be supplied to the agro-industrial complex.Analysts focus on the following important areas of application of digital technologies in the agricultural sector: unmanned tractors and aircraft; management of material resources; automated systems for crop care during the growing season; automated livestock farm management systems (Karimov N., Kulmatova B., Buranova D., 2021).
According to research by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO), digitalization of the food chain, or the implementation of "Smart industry" and "Smart agriculture" to achieve sustainable development goals, increases productivity and production efficiency in the agri-food sector and provides flexibility to changing market conditions (Trendov N., Varas S., Szen M., 2019).But there are basic conditions for implementing digital transformation in agriculture, which can include: -minimum conditions enabling the use of digital technologies: availability of digital technologies; opportunities to connect to them physically and financially; level of computer literacy of the population; level of education in the field of information and communication technologies; political measures in the field of digital technologies (e-government, etc.); -conditions that support (satellite) digital technologies: the spread of the Internet, mobile communication, and social networks and the possibilities of their use; digital technology skills; entrepreneurship and innovation support (business incubators, start-ups, and other innovative programs) (Trendov, N. M., Varas, S. & Zeng, M., 2019).
Today, developed countries are entering the innovative phase of development "Industry -4.0" and "Agriculture -4.0" into production process based on digital technologies, in particular: broadband Internet, mobile communications, information technologies (information data, artificial intelligence, automated control platform), machinery and equipment (unmanned tractors and machines, unmanned drones, stamps, controllers, sensors, controls), advanced and efficient management methods such as "Smart industry", "Smart agriculture", "Intelligent manufacturing", "Big Data", "Cloud technologies", "Smart field", "Smart Garden", "Smart Greenhouse", "Smart Farm" etc. Industry 4.0 is the application of Internet of Things factors in production.The main feature of Industry 4.0 is the achievement of a specific goal, minimizing human intervention in the work of all components of the production process (production process, enterprise equipment and its information systems -warehousing and logistics, accounting, management, etc.). is to increase interaction with the digital ecosystem.
Implementation of the principles of the Industry 4.0 concept will help to obtain several advantages that are not available in traditional industrial models.For example, companies can apply a customized approach to orders depending on customer preferences.Old factories and factories are now being transformed into "smart enterprises" that produce unique products according to specific orders.At the same time, the cost of producing a single product is reduced, and companies can produce a unique product that matches the price of a popular, standardized product.
The so-called "fourth industrial revolution" (Industry 4.0)1 is accompanied by the rapid transformation of many sectors under the influence of "breakthrough" digital innovations -blockchain, Internet of things, artificial intelligence, and immersive reality.In the agri-food sector, the proliferation of mobile technologies, remote sensing services, and distributed data processing is already increasing smallholder farmers' access to information, inputs, markets, finance, and training.Digital technologies offer new opportunities for integrating smallholder farmers into digital agriculture and food systems (USAID, 2018).
It is known that the use of digital technologies and the development of digital infrastructures lead to an increase in productivity and efficiency in agriculture.Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated October 5, 2020 No. PF-6079 "On the approval of the strategy "Digital Uzbekistan-2030" and measures for its effective implementation", Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated December 17, 2020, No. 794 "On Measures to Develop the Digitalization System in the Agro-industrial complex and Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan", and other regulatory legal documents allow the use of modern methods of agricultural production based on the concept of "Smart Agriculture" and "Agriculture 4.0", aimed at the rational use of land, water, and other natural resources, automation of agricultural production, the introduction of innovative ideas and technologies to ensure the food security of the country.
The introduction of the concept of "Smart Agriculture" and "Agriculture 4.0" in the agricultural sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan is just beginning.Development the "Strategy of Smart Agriculture", approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 794 dated December 17, 2020 "On measures to develop the agro-industrial complex and the digitalization system in agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan", provides for the implementation of the following tasks: introduction of digital information technologies in the use of agricultural land; management and use of water resources using modern computer technologies; introduction of automated control technologies in the organization of intensive orchards and the cultivation of fruits and vegetables; introduction of automated, computerized intelligent technologies in greenhouses; introduction of modern technologies in the processes of storage and processing of agricultural products, organization of logistics and shopping centers equipped with modern information and communication technologies; training of qualified personnel on "smart agriculture" technologies for all areas of agriculture and advanced training of personnel; formation of a regulatory framework for the implementation of "smart agriculture" technologies.
However analysis shows that today the level of application of innovative technologies based on digital technologies in the agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Uzbekistan is very low, and therefore the goals and objectives set within the framework of the strategy "Digital Uzbekistan-2030" are only expanding and relatively new not only to the republic, but also on a global scale.Obtaining the necessary sources of information and other tools is difficult due to the limited opportunities for the introduction of digital technologies, which require the use of complex IT technologies, artificial intelligence tools, and highly qualified specialists.For example, the use of digital technologies depends mainly on the development of the Internet.But, "although 4G is considered the main technology for connecting to the Internet today, and 90 percent of subscribers worldwide can connect using technology no less than 3G, only one-third of the rural population in less developed countries uses 3G technology in the network [2,[11][12][13]22].

CONCLUSION
Based on the results of this research, we make the following recommendations for strengthening food security through the development of digital and smart industry and agriculture in Uzbekistan: -taking into account the strategic goals of the reforms being carried out in our country, it is necessary to develop and implement the concept of "Industry 4.0" based on digital technologies, taking into account the specifics of industrial sectors, innovative development, and an in-depth study of the existing practices of developed countries; -development of mechanisms for introducing innovative methods, such as "smart workshop", "intelligent production", "big data", "cloud technologies", "smart field", "smart garden", "smart greenhouse", "smart livestock farm", "digital technologies in the management of the agro-industrial complex", "smart agriculture" based on the use of automated digital technologies" and assessment of their impact on economic efficiency; -expansion of scientific research aimed at studying the theoretical and methodological foundations of the Conceptions of "Agriculture 4.0" and "Smart Agriculture"; -based on the analysis of the current state of the digital agricultural technologies in Uzbekistan, to identify the existing problems in connection with this, the factors affecting them, and research to find their solutions; -creation and forecasting of balanced models of optimal placement of crops using digital technologies, forecasting the development trends of food and resource markets, taking into account long-term climate change; -based on studying the experience of using the "Smart Agriculture" system and digital technologies in developed countries, choose the most suitable ones and develop recommendations for their adaptation under the conditions of the Republic of Uzbekistan; -creation of practical recommendations for the development and implementation of software for neural networks in the development of intelligent solutions, such as platforms for managing and monitoring modern intelligent technologies for the effective organization of agricultural production (self-propelled vehicles and vehicles without a driver; navigation drones equipped with cameras and sensors; sensors, monitoring the body of livestock and crops, soil moisture and microclimate; automated systems for managing livestock farms, data analysis).
-to develop a unified digital platform for monitoring the "value-added chain" and reducing losses associated with the loss of products in the chain "production -storage -primary and deep processing -sales of agricultural products".
In preparing this article, materials and statistical data from the United Nations Organization (UN), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Children's Fund of the United Nations (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Agency of Statistics under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan were widely used.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: The graph indicates the probability of AR (1) order of autocorrelation in the dependent variable.This requires further analysis of autocorrelation in the model

Table 1 :
Dynamics of key macroeconomic indicators of development of the agricultural sector in Uzbekistan

Table 2 :
Dynamics of per capita production of basic types of agricultural food products in Uzbekistan, in kilograms

Table 3 :
Composition of investments in fixed capital of agriculture by sources of financing

Table 4 :
Dynamics of changes in the salinity of irrigated lands in the country in 2008-2020, in % to the total irrigated lands

Table 5 :
Advantages of implementing drip irrigation systems

Table 6 :
Distribution of the main types of agricultural tractors and machines in the agricultural sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan by service life, in % of total(2021)

Table 7 :
The dynamics of changes in the fixed assets of the agricultural sector (including forestry and fisheries)1) (at current prices) 1) without livestock

Table 8 :
Dynamics of food industry development in the Republic of Uzbekistan

Table 9 :
Linear regression with omission of insignificant variables