Local agro-project presented in Budapest

By Rasana Gasimova

In recent years, Azerbaijan has been successfully developing its non-oil sector, including the agriculture.

Azerbaijan’s “Agro Procurement and Supply” OJSC representatives attended a Regional Workshop on Integrated Community Development of The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Budapest on October 23-24, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture reported in its official web-site.

During the workshop, chairman of the board of “Agro Procurement and Supply” OJSC Leyla Mammadova spoke about the cooperation between FAO and the company, the country’s overall agro potential as well as the “AFAQ” – Agro Action of Azerbaijani Women” project.

“FAO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, is implementing various projects in Azerbaijan. These projects aim to educate people working in the field of agriculture, to provide them consulting services, to encourage people to work in the agricultural sector, and support small and medium-sized farms,” the chairman said.

She went on to say that “Agro Procurement and Supply” OJSC is one of the most cooperative agencies of FAO in Azerbaijan.

“We have implemented a number of projects together so far and I believe we will continue to work more closely in the future. We are implementing ‘AFAQ’ project together with FAO. The main objective of the project is to support Agro Action of Azerbaijani Women, to encourage women to work in the agricultural sector, and to enhance the social well-being of rural people. Within the frame of the project, women farmers will gain modern knowledge and skills in the field of agriculture, and information about subjects on the access to domestic and foreign markets, access to credit and their efficient use, processing facilities, and etc.,” Mammadova noted.

She also mentioned “Local Food Promotion” project that will be implemented by the FAO and “Agro Procurement and Supply” OJSC. The project aims to support producers on the pre-selected food in the Northwest. Within the frame of the project a number of activities including trainings, seminars, exhibitions, marketing, etc. are planned to be carried out by “Agro Procurement and Supply” OJSC.

Mammadova further said that FAO supports the preparation of national export promotion strategies for selected agricultural products in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Note that the main purpose of the Regional Workshop on Integrated Community Development is to discuss different approaches to local rural development relevant for Europe and Central Asia; share practical experiences among the participating countries and contribute to the establishment of new partnerships among governments, international organizations, and the private sector interested in local rural development. Representatives of government, international organizations and the private sector, civil society and academia from Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Albania, Serbia, Moldova and a number of Balkan countries are taking part at the workshop.

The main topic of discussion is the development perspectives of rural communities and ways to support family farms. According to statistics, family farmers produce over 80 percent of world’s food. FAO supports various initiatives and projects in European and Central Asian countries to protect biodiversity of rural ecosystems, improve the social well-being of rural populations, and support smallholder farms.

Azerbaijan pays special attention to the implementation of agrarian reforms and the development of agriculture, which is one of the main areas of the non-oil sector. Agriculture is an important part of the country's economy, therefore it is considered in the context of overall development.

Dynamic development of Azerbaijan’s economy in recent years, the expansion of our financial opportunities have opened up new opportunities for agriculture.