Lending conditions unfavorable for vast majority of farmers - deputy minister

The existing lending conditions in Azerbaijan are completely unfavorable for the vast majority of farmers for various reasons, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ilhama Gadimova said at the II Agribusiness Forum.

She stressed that at present, state funds provide financing of the agricultural sector on preferential terms through authorized credit organizations of the Agricultural Credit and Development Agency (AKİA): “At the same time, investments in the agricultural sector have increased in recent years, especially from non-state sources. The share of non-state sources in investing in this area exceeded the share of the public sector."

Gadimova added that the bulk of loans to the agricultural processing industries are soft loans from the state budget, which are mainly aimed at investment purposes: "In return, agricultural producers need large amounts of working capital to carry out their activities in accordance with agrotechnical standards."

She stressed that the liberation of the occupied lands created opportunities for the restoration and development of agriculture in the country: "The inclusion of new territories in the crop rotation will increase production, the fertile lands of the region will contribute to the growth of grain, vegetable and fruit production, and will give impetus to the development of animal husbandry. Important infrastructure projects, currently implemented in the liberated territories will also support the development of agriculture.”