Within the framework of the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Program (FATP) Agreement, a study visit of the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency, the Agrarian Services Agency, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, the Small and Medium Business Development Agency, and the State Employment Agency, including the Chairwoman of the Azerbaijan Rural Women's Association and the Chairwoman of the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Association in Azerbaijan, the Head of the Agrarian Development Volunteers, as well as the project's beneficiary farmers has begun to Turkey, Report informs, citing the Ministry of Agriculture.
The purpose of the study visit is to increase the employment of young people and women and the skills of rural women, develop requirement based skills, innovative methods of efficient use of existing land and water resources to increase agricultural production, both for rural women farmers and representatives of relevant government agencies, to get acquainted with modern technologies, best practices in startups and technical support for entrepreneurship in rural areas.
On the first day of the study visit, a meeting was held with Osman Yildiz, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Reform Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey, and Mehmet Ergun, Director of the Training and Promotion Department of the Ministry. Innovative projects implemented in Azerbaijan and Turkey, promotion and application of innovations in the agricultural sector, development of agrarian startups. They also exchanged views on opportunities for future activities to increase productivity in the agrarian sector and improve agrarian management using innovative methods and digital technologies were discussed at the meeting. Furthermore, the deputy Chairperson of the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency, Leyla Mammadova, spoke about the Agency's activities, projects implemented jointly with international partners in the priority areas of agriculture, and the successful results achieved.
Manager of the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Program Namig Mammadov informed about the economic strengthening of women in rural areas and the projects implemented under the Program. Sakina Babayeva, chairwoman of the Association for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan, marked the activities of the organization she represents, the measures taken by the state in this area, and the projects they benefit from. At the same time, Gulbaniz Ganbarova, chairwoman of the Azerbaijan Rural Women's Association, said that despite the limited opportunities for women living in remote villages and settlements, they benefited from several projects to increase their knowledge and skills in agriculture, including employment.