Azerbaijan’s state service on agriculture projects talks lending plans
By Narmina Mammadova
There are plans to allocate loans worth 10 million manats in 2019 to farmers in Azerbaijan via the State Service on Management of Agricultural Projects and Credits under Azerbaijan’s Agriculture Ministry, the head of the service, Mirza Aliyev, said on December 13.
“We will be able to allocate these funds if we accelerate the collection of previously issued loans and return our funds, which are now in the liquidated banks,” he said.
Aliyev noted that lending to agriculture via the State Service was restored in May 2018. Until the end of the current year, the agency also plans to issue about 10 million manats.
“We aim to bring lending to agriculture to 10 million manats by the end of this year,” he added. “Most of this amount has already been spent.”
He said that farmers are mainly interested in small amounts within 10,000-100,000 manats. The average loan amount is 60,000 manats, he noted.
The State Service on Management of Agricultural Projects and Credits was established by the decree of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in October 2004 on the basis of the State Agency for Agricultural Credits under the Ministry of Agriculture.
The agency provides support in lending to the areas of production and processing of agricultural products, water management, land reclamation and others. At the same time, the agency participates in the development and implementation of government programs aimed at the development of the agriculture sector.
The economy has entered a period of stable growth. Many banks in Azerbaijan are preparing for 2019, which should be a year of lending. And since the steady growth of the economy has begun, then, accordingly, it needs financial support, which can be provided primarily through loans.
The state began to provide comprehensive support for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, and the roadmap clearly states that the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Azerbaijan will be a priority for the state.
The strategic road maps of the national economy of Azerbaijan were approved by the head of state at the end of last year. These documents cover the priority areas of the country's economy. One of the road maps is devoted to agriculture. In line with measures to be implemented in this field as reflected in this document, until 2020 in Azerbaijan it is planned to create about 20,000 new jobs and increase the country's GDP by 1.2 billion manats.
It is planned to establish an agricultural insurance fund in 2018 within the framework of the implementation of the strategic road map for the production and processing of agricultural products.
The possibility of creating an insurance fund to expand the coverage of agricultural insurance will be explored. It is planned to study an international experience in this field and prepare reports including an analysis of the potential impact of creating a fund on producer insurance and the development of the agricultural sector as a whole.
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