GLOBAL PRIORITY

Over the past 27 years, Azerbaijan in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has implemented basic UN targets for food security, introduction of modern technologies and digitalisation of agriculture. A year ago, the Milli Majlis (parliament) of Azerbaijan decided to extend the joint platform of partnership with FAO, continuing to implement a number of strategies and programmes to respond to new challenges. It is expected that the government will soon approve another FAO programme , to take joint projects to a considerably new level.

Global challenges

In 2000, the United Nations and FAO initiated the Millennium Development Goals, a declaration focused on a tangible reduction of hunger on the planet by 2015 by increasing food production, especially in developing countries. The initiative was adopted by 185 UN member states.

Azerbaijan was one of the first countries in the post-Soviet space to come close to solving this problem, including through the state programme for the reliable supply of food to the population implemented in 2008-2015. About a decade ago, FAO included Azerbaijan in the list of countries with the lowest level of hunger (less than 5%). According to FAO, by 2013, the level of import substitution in livestock and poultry production in Azerbaijan reached 92%, while production of fruit, vegetables, and melons approached 100%. In recent years, agricultural import substitution rate has averaged 70-80%. According to FAO estimates, Azerbaijan now holds a stable position in terms of food security.

However, considering the new challenges related to imbalanced global markets and rising food prices, ensuring food security remains a key challenge for Azerbaijan. In November 2022, the FAO experts reported that the world prices for food product that have been decreasing since March this year slowed down in October. FAO food price index last month was 135.9 points (136.3 in September). Compared to the peak value in March, the indicator dropped by 14.9% but is still above the level of the same period in 2021. Furthermore, the world prices of all the main cereal products increased again. In particular, the price of wheat and coarse grains rose by 3.2% and 4.3%, respectively mainly due to the ongoing uncertainty with the Black Sea Grain Initiative. In the same report FAO lowered its forecast for world cereal production by 4.9m tonnes to 2.764bn tonnes by the end of 2022. Moreover, this negative trend is almost entirely due to lower yields and reduced harvesting areas in the US. On the other hand, UN experts believe that the main reason of the problem is not the lack of grain and other agricultural products only. Other reasons include irregularities in logistics and routes of delivery of food products and their subsequent distribution, which affects the poorest countries the most.

Azerbaijan also experiences the effects of acute problems on the global food market. Therefore, the projects to ensure food security and agricultural development will remain in the focus of cooperation with FAO. "Especially in this difficult time, when the issue of food security becomes increasingly important for every country, including Azerbaijan. Despite the growth of agriculture exports, we still import food products,” President Ilham Aliyev said.

During his meeting with the FAO Director General Qiu Dungyu in Baku in May 2022, President Aliyev underlined that Azerbaijan counted on long-term fruitful cooperation and advisory support of the organisation in agriculture projects in the Garabagh and East Zangezur economic regions. "Currently, we are in the stage of planning the development of agriculture in the liberated territories. Therefore, your recommendations will be highly appreciated," Mr. Aliyev said.

The main mission of the programme to revive the agriculture potential in Garabagh is the introduction of IT technologies in the production and processing areas. This trend will be also part of Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the FAO. Specialists of the organisation together with other international donor organisations confirmed their readiness to participate in projects in the liberated Azerbaijani territories. Currently, they are identifying main priorities and developing the assistance strategy.

Ongoing projects

Remarkably, the joint projects with FAO are aligned with the State Programme on Food Security in Azerbaijan 2019-2025 approved by the government in April 2019. Priority joint projects include bringing food safety norms and standards in line with international requirements, building export capacity, strengthening control of agrochemicals and veterinary materials, and building a sustainable supply chain for agricultural products and their marketing. Another issue is the development of organic farming and the seed sector, the breeding of elite breeds of farm animals, etc. In most of these areas, the FAO has a track record that will be implemented in the next few years.

So far Azerbaijan and FAO have implemented seven joint projects to improve livestock and sheep production, hazelnut and potato cultivation. FAO is also active in youth and women's involvement (over 270 projects have been implemented in 12 districts of Azerbaijan on gender issues alone).

The FAO focuses in particular on increasing productivity and reducing costs in the agricultural sector. According to international experts, this should encourage producers to re-equip, innovate and improve the competitiveness of agricultural production in the country.

UN assistance mainly includes technical, advisory and partly financial support, with projects often implemented jointly with other international donor programmes. At the initiative of the FAO Office for Partnerships and Coordination, an FAO regional office was opened in Ganja earlier this year and will cover two pilot economic regions - Ganja-Gazakh and Guba. The EU-funded project implemented by UN farming specialists will focus on the implementation of a five-year agricultural advisory programme, technical assistance and other activities to improve productivity and crop yields.

Another FAO project is the improvement of national food safety systems and regional cooperation. It provides for the implementation of a number of legal and institutional reforms in Azerbaijan to create an effective food control system. FAO is also conducting a number of projects on natural resources and environmental management in Azerbaijan in close cooperation with the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund.

Big plans

"It is expected that the Government of Azerbaijan will soon adopt a new phase of the UN FAO's partnership programme and our cooperation will move to a completely different level," Viorel Gutsu, FAO sub-regional coordinator for Central Asia, said. He added that the FAO plans to focus on technical issues as well as issues related to environmental protection. This will contribute to the development of the agricultural sector and improve the lives of people living in rural areas.

In particular it concerns the protection of natural resources, including soil and water, biodiversity and other key factors for efficient agricultural production. FAO experts plan to implement Turkish experience in the development of forestry: "This programme aims to restore forests, increase forest plantations and improve soil conditions through various technologies for growing both forest and agricultural crops, thereby preserving soil and water resources," said Mr. Gutsu.

It is also planned that projects on efficient and rational use of irrigation water in farms will be implemented in line with the country programme with the technical support of FAO. Pilot projects using economical irrigation solutions such as drip and spray irrigation, fine sprinkling, etc. are also possible.

Another promising area for cooperation is Baku's participation in a regional project on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management (CACFISH) with Central Asian countries and Turkey. The project funded by the Turkish government aims to build capacity in the development of fisheries and the artificial breeding of fish fauna. According to Gutsu, Azerbaijan has all conditions for this and the country is one of the active participants of CACFISH. "This platform is based on the respective FAO programme, which allows the exchange of best practices, technologies and innovations in the field of fisheries and aquaculture", said V. Gutsu.

In the future, cooperation is also planned in the field of rational use and storage of food, reduction of food waste and recycling. According to the UN, the situation in this area is extremely complicated, with more than a third of the world's food being lost and wasted. Solving this big problem could solve many issues related to the ability of the world population to have an affordable and healthy diet. According to Gutsu, the government of Azerbaijan has a great interest in solving this problem. Today the government of Azerbaijan and FAO are discussing the implementation of joint projects to reduce food waste thanks to the successful experience of FAO in this area accumulated in Turkey.

In total, the implementation of all these plans will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the development of the agricultural in Azerbaijan and will facilitate the rapid accomplishment of the most important objective—the maximum level of self-sufficiency in food.