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Azerbaijani Women in Agriculture project launched

8 May 2019 10:58 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijani Women in Agriculture project launched

By Leman Mammadova

Just as in other sectors of economy, Azerbaijani women make a great contribution to agriculture. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of women involved in agriculture.

However, few women are heads of the farming business, although woman labor is used in almost all sectors of agriculture.

In order to support the development of women farmers in the country, Azerbaijan has been implementing several projects together with international organizations, particularly with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The State Agro Trade Company, together with the FAO, launched the Azerbaijani Women in Agriculture (AFAQ) project on May 7.

The main goal of the project, which costs about $800,000, is to improve the technical skills of female farmers and facilitate their access to the market.

Head of FAO’s Partnership and Liasion Office in Azerbaijan, Melek Cakmak, said that the organization together with the State Agro Trade Company will implement the AFAQ project in order to increase women's employment in agrarian sphere, their access to information, resources and markets, thereby improving the socio-economic well-being of women.

She noted that the project aims at facilitating the access of women to the sales markets, the formation of women entrepreneurs who would establish their own business in agriculture, increasing their knowledge of marketing and sales, creation of small production facilities and greenhouses for women.

The AFAQ project will be implemented within the framework of the Partnership Program signed between FAO and the Azerbaijani government.

“Today, women farmers make up about 50 percent of the employment in agriculture. However, female farmers have less access to knowledge and information. The goal of this project is to provide women farmers with better access to their work, to increase their skills and knowledge, and to ensure their access to the marketplace through the access to the production resources, especially financial knowledge and skills. We want to work to improve their income through the project,” said Cakmak.

In turn, Director of the State Agro Trade Company, Leyla Mammadova, noted that within the project, which will last for two years, trainings will be held for women farmers on business planning and business development, leadership, management, marketing, financial literacy and agricultural skills.

“We expect to integrate female farmers to a single platform that would help them to actively share their experiences with each other and to communicate as well as build partnerships on that platform,” Mammadova said.

She added that during the project, small production facilities and greenhouses will be established to implement pilot activities for collective production processes, and continuous training and technical support will be developed. State Agro Development Centers, local authorities, NGOs and farmers’ associations will be involved in the project and will be provided with information and consultancy services and training skills.

FAO's support for the food and agricultural sector of Azerbaijan is determined by the priorities set out in the new Country Program Framework, developed jointly with the Government of Azerbaijan, adapted to the requirements of "Azerbaijan 2020: Vision for the Future" and other national strategic documents.

The Current Country Program Framework covers the period 2016 - 2020, combining advanced international practices and global standards with national and regional experiences.

FAO implemented 53 projects since 1995 in Azerbaijan.

FAO attaches great importance to partnership with the private sector and cooperation with the international community in project implementation. Priority areas for cooperation with Azerbaijan are support of the development of agriculture, improvement of the living conditions of rural residents, as well as support to the Azerbaijani government to carry out reforms in this area.

Recently, FAO has launched its new four-year project in Azerbaijan on pest and pesticides management.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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