Minister Majnun Mammadov spoke at a panel session held within the framework of the “1st Azerbaijan International Investment Forum”

The First Azerbaijan International Investment Forum, held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, continued with panel sessions. Within the framework of the next session, heads of state agencies, international experts and heads of leading companies held discussions on measures taken towards the development of agriculture, innovative solutions applied and results achieved, investment opportunities in agribusiness and the food industry, and public-private partnership.

Speaking at the panel session dedicated to the topic “The Role of Education in Agriculture and the Food Industry” on the 2nd day of the forum, Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov informed the participants of the event about the reforms implemented by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the main directions of development of agriculture, the application of innovations in the agricultural sector, and state support for the agricultural sector. Minister Majnun Mammadov said that Azerbaijan’s high-level relations with all states, modern transport infrastructure, rich energy resources, climatic conditions and favorable investment environment create significant advantages for the successful activity of business communities in our country. Noting that Azerbaijan has invested heavily in research and development in the agricultural sector, and that there are strong state support mechanisms in the form of subsidies, loans and concessions for the development of agriculture in our country, the minister emphasized that all foreign business entities can benefit from these opportunities on an equal basis. It was noted that increasing productivity through efficient use of resources, creating climate-adapted, green and digital agriculture, as well as diversifying export products and geography are among the main goals.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Chairman of the Food Safety Agency Zakiya Mustafayeva, Head of Mission of the Turkic States Organization in Hungary, Chairman of the OTS Drought Prevention Institute Balazs Hendrich, CEO of Agrodairy LLC Niyazi Amirbekov, CEO of Azershekar LLC Nasib Islamzadeh, CEO of Carlsberg Azerbaijan Alius Antulis shared their views on investment opportunities in agribusiness and food industry in the Central Asian and South Caucasus regions, state support for the agricultural sector, development of rural areas and increasing agricultural exports through strategic partnerships, production of quality products, application of innovative equipment, and cooperation with the Italian-Azerbaijani University for the development of agricultural technologies and knowledge.

After the event, Minister Majnun Mammadov visited the Agro Technology section, where the Ministry of Agriculture is represented, within the framework of the forum. In this pavilion, local agrarian startups demonstrated their products, organized by the Agrarian Innovation Center. Here, automation of irrigation networks, sensor technologies, a single platform for the sale of plants produced using biotechnological methods, and software for intelligent management of agricultural activities were demonstrated. In addition, a project aimed at obtaining environmentally friendly and economically profitable fertilizer from fish waste collected in water bodies and aquariums by filtration by startups, a local GPS tracking system in livestock farming, obtaining propanediol molecules in an ecological environment by biological fermentation, as well as a mobile application that allows for photo-based identification of plant diseases, and other innovative ideas were presented. In addition, a presentation of promising investment projects in the fields of livestock breeding, greenhouses, and horticulture was held for investors in the Agrarian Technologies section. Also, presentations were held in this section on the promising greenhouse project in the Jabrayil region, the benefits created for farmers for modern and effective production activities in the liberated territories, the intensive grape, cherry and apricot orchards to be planted on 100 hectares in the Goygol destrict, and the livestock farm planned to be built in this district.