Japan allots over $7 mln for Azerbaijan’s agriculture sector
By Sara Rajabova
The Japanese Embassy in Azerbaijan continues the implementation of grant projects in the country through the General Grant Aid Scheme provided by the Japanese government.
The Japanese government has allocated to Azerbaijan a grant totaling about $7.45 million for the acquisition of equipment for amelioration and irrigation.
The signing ceremony of notes to be exchanged and the grant agreement regarding the project for "Improvement of Equipment for Amelioration and Irrigation (Phase 2)" was held at the residence of Japanese Ambassador Shusuke Watanabe.
The note exchanged regarding the project was signed by Ambassador Watanabe and from the Azerbaijani side by Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov.
The grant agreement was signed by Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at Uzbekistan Office, Masao Shikano, and from Azerbaijan by Chairman of Melioration and Water Farm JSC Ahmad Ahmadzada.
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Watanabe said the project has great importance for the cooperation and further development of the relations between the two countries.
He said that the first stage of the project was successfully implemented in Salyan, Sabirabad, Saatli and Neftchala regions of Azerbaijan in 2004.
"JICA highly appreciated the first stage of the project and based on this the Japanese government has decided to launch the second phase of the project," Watanabe said.
He added that the implementation of the project will contribute to the improvement of the amelioration and irrigation system of Azerbaijan.
Under the grant project, 30 excavators, bulldozers and other types of machinery designed for amelioration and irrigation will be purchased.
Abid Sharifov, for his part, said that the project is important for the development of agriculture in the country.
"This is the second grant from the Japanese government for the development of agriculture. This is a very important project, because we need the equipment for the cleaning of the canals in the regions, prevention of soil salinity and so on. Ultimately, all these measures will lead to the growth of agriculture and productivity," Sharifov said.
He said Azerbaijan's agriculture and water supply sectors need more investments, including those from financial institutions, than other fields.
"First of all, assets from international financial institutions are required for the development of agriculture, in particular, for cleaning up the lands and canals, as well as prevention of soil salinization," Sharifov said.
The main objective of the project is to contribute for the development of Azerbaijan's agricultural sector through improvement of amelioration and irrigation equipment in the regions of Agjabedi, Imishli, Beylagan and Fizuli by maintaining procurement of necessary machinery such as excavators, bulldozers and graders.
Since 1999 the Japanese government has implemented General Grant Aid seven times for a total amount of approximately $34 million.
The overall amount of Japan's Official Development Assistance provided for Azerbaijan is more than $1 billion, covering a wide range of areas such as improvement of economic infrastructure, agricultural and social sectors, culture as well as human capacity development.