The official opening conference of the “Young Agro-Entrepreneurs” project was held
The official opening conference of the “Young Agro-Entrepreneurs” project was held on May 31. The project, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom, will be implemented by a coalition of several partners: Azerbaijan Microfinance Association (AMFA), Finance and Social Innovation Consulting LLC (FSIC), National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of Azerbaijan (ASK), “ASK Business Consulting” LLC and “Damiragac” Ecological Public Union.
The overall goal of the “Young Agro-Entrepreneurs” project is to contribute to the development of households and poverty reduction in Azerbaijan by helping the new generation of young rural entrepreneurs to apply innovative and environmentally friendly agricultural techniques, technologies and modern agricultural services. The specific goal of the project is to create sustainable employment and income for farmers, especially young people engaged in agriculture, in Lankaran, Astara, Lerik and Masalli districts until 2025.
Increasing the employment of 70 young people (35 men and 35 women) in agriculture in the framework of the project; increasing public and private sector financing of vegetable and fruit value chains; support for the effective formation of investment policy on agricultural services, influence on the application of good practices and strengthening of public-private partnership in this field; increasing the knowledge of farmers in the field of permaculture concept, increasing resilience against the impact of climate change on their means of livelihood; establishing two feijoa cooperatives and increase farmers’ access to markets are planned in frame of the project.
Mr. Mammad Musayev, President of the Azerbaijan Entrepreneurs Confederation, speaking at the event, mentioned that the agricultural sector is developing in Azerbaijan, and our country has great potential, especially in the field of biologically pure products. If we look at the structure of our export products, we will see that the share of agricultural products is increasing year by year. As per the President of the Confederation, the creation of a food and value chain within the country is a very important issue, therefore, the development of agriculture and agro-entrepreneurship should be looked at comprehensively, starting from the land, and ending with the packaging of the final product, branding, and brand creation.
Mr. Jalal Aliyev, AMFA chairman, Mr. Mirsalam Ganbarov, chairman of the board of the State Environmental Expertise Agency of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, and Mr. Fergus Auld, ambassador of Great Britain to Azerbaijan, spoke at the event.
Representatives of state bodies, business support organizations and entrepreneurs took part in the event. The conference continued with panel discussions.
