Impact of global processes on Azerbaijan’s food security

Azerbaijan is one of the countries with limited land and water resources, and climate change directly affects them, Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov said in an interview with Real TV, Report informs.

“One of the reasons that give rise to threats and challenges to food security, causing concern in all countries, is related to climate change at the global level, global warming. At the end of last year, the UN Agriculture and Food Organization (FAO) published a report entitled “The state of the world’s land and water resources for food and agriculture: Systems at breaking point (SOLAW 2021).” The main message of this report was that land and water resources are currently at the limit of their ability to be used to feed the world’s population. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to approach 10 billion, the problem of global warming will take on a more acute form, over the past 20 years, 191 million hectares of agricultural land have gone out of circulation in the world. That is, climate change is one of the main stressors for food security. This is also typical for Azerbaijan,” the minister said.

He noted that the main part of Azerbaijan’s cropland (1 million hectares) is used for the production of grain crops: “Half of them are irrigated, and the remaining 50% are dry land. Exacerbation of drought in the future is inevitable. The International Natural Resources Institute has included Azerbaijan among the 20 countries subject to desertification processes until 2040. Therefore, the correct use of water and land resources is one of the most important factors.”

Karimov noted that all branches of agriculture, including grain growing, are supported by the state: “Direct subsidies and equipment are provided here. The purpose of the decree recently signed by President Ilham Aliyev “On a number of measures to increase the level of self-sufficiency in food wheat” is to strengthen support measures in this area, to provide additional subsidies to our farmers.”

The minister added that the rise in energy prices on world markets is one of the factors that directly affect the agricultural sector: “This also leads to a decrease in the profitability of farmers. In some cases, this negatively affects the use of inputs by farmers, yields are reduced, and price volatility acts as one of the factors that negatively affect the agricultural sector.”