Azerbaijan is actively cooperating with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in nine priority directions as part of the cooperation program, says Bariz Mehdiyev, Assistant FAO Representative.
Speaking during the National Forum on Agriculture Advisory Services (AAS), Mehdiyev noted that cooperation in these directions is actively progressing and announced that they consider signing the second phase of the cooperation with Baku.
AAS, one of the mechanisms to inform government priorities and policies, is the annual conference and programming event that brings together AAS actors to determine and discuss priority technical topics of AAS nature.
During the forum, they present their work and programs in order to share and upgrade information and experiences at the national level and to identify new tendencies (political, economic, marketing, etc.)
FAO, which supports food and waste management projects in Azerbaijan, and Baku have jointly implemented over 60 projects so far in the field of agriculture – the agricultural environment in particular – as well as food safety, improving them in the process.
Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sarvan Jafarov reiterated during the National Forum on AAS that the production of competitive agriculture products is a priority for the development of Azerbaijan’s economy where the growth of agricultural products jumped to 27% at the end of 2022.
Prioritizing the development of innovations and the use of technologies in the agricultural sector, Azerbaijan is also expected to expand irrigation fields from 50,000 to 200,000 hectares as part of the large-scale work on the digitalization of public services for farmers.
Jafarov noted that the ministry cooperates closely with the EU and other international organizations, such as FAO, to achieve the objectives of the agricultural development strategy.
According to UN Resident Coordinator Vladanka Andreeva, improving the situation of Azerbaijan’s rural life is precedence for each the federal government and the UN, noting that Azerbaijan has recently demonstrated success within the subject of agricultural growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
She added that in 2021, they reached a settlement with Azerbaijan on cooperation within the agricultural sector till 2025 within the fields of inclusive development, environmental safety, and help for the equality of doing enterprise.
