Inam Karimov: “Agriculture is the first innovation of mankind”

On October 8, in Baku, the final presentation of the AgroX start-up contest was held by the Agricultural Science and Innovation Center, “Startup Azerbaijan” and the “INNOLAND” Accreditation Center with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture. The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, heads of State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, heads of state institutions, rectors of higher educational institutions and subordinate organizations of the Ministry.

Final evaluation of 12 agro startups before the presentation is completed and finalists are identified.

Opening the event, the president of the Azerbaijan Internet Forum, Osman Gunduz head of “Startup Azerbaijan” spoke about the purpose and significance of the AgroX startup contest. Osman Gunduz said that a start-up ecosystem has been formed in Azerbaijan, and noted that competition will help create agricultural ecosystems in agriculture and create favorable conditions for the implementation of innovative ideas of agro startups.

Speaking at the event, Inam Karimov, Minister of Agriculture said that in accordance with the policies established by President Ilham Aliyev, important measures are implemented to apply innovative solutions in all fields. In our country, the introduction of innovations in all fields is supported at the state level: “Mankind has reached today's level of development thanks to new discoveries, inventions and innovations throughout history. The agricultural field has always been at the center of these innovations and discoveries. It is safe to say that agriculture was the first innovation of mankind. Ancient people adopted the first innovations in agriculture and improved agricultural tools. Innovation has enabled people to improve their nutrition and better nutrition. Food security was one of the global challenges, perhaps the first at every stage of human development. For this reason, agricultural innovation has always been considered the greatest food security tool in the world. As innovations increase productivity many times, land and water resources are used more efficiently, the cost of production decreases, and farmers earn more. The benefits of innovation are more than that. As the saying goes, the beauty of innovation is that it has no end. Each new product brings two new ideas and two new opportunities. By supporting these opportunities, we are accelerating our development in the agricultural sector”.

Noting that the introduction of innovation is one of the three main principles of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Minister also touched on implementation measures in the field of innovation and the application of new technologies in agriculture: “At the moment, I would like to briefly answer the question “What innovations are introduced in agriculture in Azerbaijan”. The biggest innovations that we have made in the past are the use of an electronic agricultural information system, the use of drones in agriculture, the “smart garden”, modern planting methods, the organization of modern biological control of pests, the development of biotechnological laboratories and breeding fields. The definition of seeding by satellite, etc. The word "first" is in front of each of these innovations. For the first time in Azerbaijan, the introduction of EAIS will ensure transparency in subsidies, allow collecting and conducting a comprehensive analysis of agricultural units, for the first time drones and sensors will be used to identify pests, and for the first time will be classified as a super-elite category in biotechnology laboratories. Cotton growing based on Chinese, Greek and Turkish technologies is carried out today in our country. This is one of the largest innovation initiatives that will increase productivity in the cotton industry. Each innovation that we introduce facilitates the work of people, maximizes their income and contributes to a more rapid development of agriculture. ”

At the end of his speech, the Minister congratulated the winners and wished success to all participants in the project.

Director of “INNOLAND” ” Incubation and Accreditation Center, Mammad Karimov spoke about the activities of the center, including mechanisms for supporting startups. He encouraged startups to be proactive for long-term projects.

It was noted that the “INNOLAND” Incubation and Accreditation Center will continue to support startup projects.

Then, the results of the AgroX Innovation Program were summed up and the results of the competition among agro startups were announced. There was a brief presentation of the victorious agro startups. After the presentation, an awarding ceremony was held for winners and those who excelled in the competition.

Recall that, 52 projects were submitted to the AgroX Innovation Program, which kicked off in May. By decision of the jury, 12 projects were recognized as technically and economically acceptable and taken to the next stage. The jury included employees of “Startap Azerbaijan”, “INNOLAND” Accreditation Center, Azerbaijan State Agricultural University (ASAU) and Azerbaijan State Economic University (UNEC). A two-stage selection of projects submitted to the innovative AgroX program was made. Each participant made a short presentation for the jury and rated it. The attractiveness, sustainability and profitability of the idea in the selected projects and the professionalism of the team are the main criteria. At the second stage, trainings were organized to improve the projects chosen for participation, with the support of mentors, startups developed their projects. As a result, startups presented their first projects.

The main goal of the AgroX program is to promote and apply innovations in the agricultural sector, develop agro startups, increase agricultural productivity through the use of innovations and digital technologies, and improve the management of the agricultural sector.