Azerbaijan gets FAO award for poverty reduction efforts
By Nazrin Gadimova
Azerbaijan has been awarded a special prize of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for achievements in fighting famine and poverty.
Azerbaijani Minister of Agriculture Ismat Abbasov received a FAO diploma from the organization's Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva in a high-level ceremony attended by several heads of state in Rome.
This prize has been awarded to the countries which have achieved targets set by both Millennium Development Goal 1 (MDG1) - to halve the proportion of hungry people by 2015 - and the more stringent World Food Summit (WFS) goal of halving the absolute number of hungry people by 2015.
The WFS goal was set in 1996, when 180 nations met at FAO headquarters to discuss ways to end hunger. The MDG 1 target was established by the international community at the UN General Assembly in 2000.
Azerbaijan has achieved both goals. The purpose of the award is FAO's recognition and appreciation of the political will of the countries which have undertaken a radical reform in the fight against hunger and poverty.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Minister Abbasov said that the implementation of state programs signed by President Ilham Aliyev saw the poverty level fall from 50 percent to 5 percent in the country.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani government and FAO signed an agreement on the draft of a national information database and analysis tools to evaluate the early warning system and the global information system. The agreement was signed by Ismat Abbasov and FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for Central Asia Mustapha Sinaceur.
Successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and FAO, contribution of the programs and projects implemented by FAO for the modernization and development of Azerbaijan's agricultural sector and the need to strengthen cooperation were discussed during the event.
It was also noted that FAO has implemented 23 projects in Azerbaijan from 1995 to 2012. According to the Azerbaijani agriculture minister, the organization is currently implementing four national and eight regional projects.
FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.