Electronical Agricultural Information System (EAIS) is a unique system that provide basic principles of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Azerbaijan Republic (proximity to farmers, transparent and effective management and application of innovations), integration with internal and external systems and creation of a complete database with wide range of agricultural field.

EAIS is a transparent and operational management tool, which primarily includes development of business processes covering all phases of government support measures for agricultural producers. 

EAIS - covers all fields of agriculture over time, allowing them to integrate with internal and external systems, as well as build a logical relationship of all agricultural processes, complete processes, analyze and apply modern technical solutions and provide accurate forecasts based on data.

At the same time, EAIS plays an important information based on all agricultural fields over time and all the processes of regulation, support and maintenance in these fields, as well as increasing integration with external systems.

Thus, there is a potential to collect and create analytical reports and build models that will form basis for planning future development and become the key requirement of modern date – “Big Data”. This can be achieved through establishment of logical relationships, a comprehensive analysis of all processes related to agriculture and accurate forecasting.

Implementation of influence for agricultural policy carried out in each country on the activities of agricultural producers are important indicator system for evaluating effectiveness of this policy. Thus, Farm Data Monitoring System which is used at the level of the European Union, is an important information base for the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union and acts as a necessary tool for decision-making in this field.

Applying FDMS in Europe has a great experience. So this system was held in Norway 1911, in Finland 1912, in Denmark 1918, in England 1936, in Sweden 1939, in the Netherlands 1940, in Germany 1955, in Luxembourg 1958 and in Austria 1959. European Commission, decision with a dated 1965 in June 15 and FDMS apply at the level of the European Union.

FDMS in Azerbaijan was launched as part of a project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). As part of this project, Agricultural Economics Research Center (former Research Institute for Agricultural Economics) was designated as responsible executive body. Pilot surveys were conducted on farms in several regions as initial experience.

Since 2015, FDMS data collection processes cover all regions of the country. Currently, database of Agricultural Economics Research Center contains reports for 2015–2018.

Within the framework of FDMS, surveys and collected information include the following issues:

The selection of farms to be included in the FDMS survey is based on the EAIS database of the Ministry of Agriculture. EAIS-based farms were divided into five layers according to the acreage and planted species, and a random sampling method was applied. Selected sample number is 1% of each category and on meanwhile 1% of subsidized farms. Thus, farms are selected from all groups (from micro to macro) to collect FDMS data.

Surveys between farms as part of the FDMS are conducted by State Center for Agricultural Development under Ministry of Agriculture. Survey data collected by SCAD is sent directly to the electronic database of Agricultural Economics Research Center.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an information system that provides for collection, processing, storage, transmission, cartographic and visual presentation of information consistent with spatial. The use of the GIS in agriculture, including in the following directions, is quite wide:

• Identification of agricultural land by using satellite imagery and orthophoto, as well as classification of planting areas by vegetation;
• Identification of plant species, monitoring of vegetation stages, crop forecasting, detection of plant diseases and their distribution by using satellite imagery;
• Determination of soil moisture, degree of salination, irrigation condition by using satellite imagery;
• Inventory of winter and summer pastures, estimate of grassland and detection of biomass by using satellite imagery

The “AgroGIS” geodatabase of the Ministry of Agriculture is managed by Agricultural Economics Research Center. The structure of this database consists of the following divisions:

• Agricultural lands - results of photo interpretation (in factuse) on orthophoto maps;
• Other lands - spatial and non-spatial land data;
• Hydrography - spatial and non-spatial data for all water basins;
• Land which was changed category - spatial and non-spatial data of land;
• Crops - spatial and non-spatial data on perennial plantations and greenhouses;
• Administrative boundaries - lands of economic and administrative districts (units), administrative and territorial units and municipalities; 
• Information about farms - spatial and non-spatial information about land, buildings and other structures of subordinate organizations of the Ministry of Agriculture;
• Orthophoto maps and digital elevation model;
• Non-spatial data - statistical data.

In 2015, Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), created an information portal on agricultural prices, which was subsequently updated by the Ministry of Agriculture and created as Electronic Price Information Portal on agriculture www.aqrarbazar.az

The Electronic Price Information Portal on agriculture also contains the following information:

• Supply prices of fruit, vegetable, potato and watermelon and melon products from the site of trade, wholesale, retail and processing enterprises;
• Retail prices of animal-breeding products (meat, milk, eggs, honey);
• Prices purchased by milk reception centers;
• Wholesale and retail of meat prices;
• Sales prices of wool and leather for population or meat cutting stations;
• Prices of crops within seasonal sales and after seasonal wholesale;
• Prices for technical plants and other products of industrial raw materials purchased by organizations;
• Retail sale prices (grass, fertilizer, animal breeding).

Prices for all types of products or assortments are aggregated daily, weekly and monthly depending on the products, taking into account low, medium and high levels.