Minister Majnun Mammadov made a speech at the 43rd session of FAO

The 43rd session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) continues in Rome which is capital of Italy. Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan Majnun Mammadov made a speech at the session on the efficient use of water resources.

The Minister mentioned that the main reason for the constant pressure of land and water resources on the planet is agricultural activity. As in the rest of the world, the limitations of water resources, water loss, and the lack of efficient use of water by farmers create difficulties in agricultural activity in Azerbaijan. Minister emphasized the importance of more efficient use of limited water resources noting that a large part of the country's water resources are formed outside Azerbaijan.

"There is a strong political will for the effective management of existing water resources in our country. One of the work done in this direction includes investing in climate-friendly intelligent agricultural management. The Azerbaijani government invests heavily in the development of climate-friendly agro-food systems. The bulk of investments are focused on the transformation of digital and smart agriculture. The use of modern irrigation systems by farmers is subsidized by the state, the replacement of earthen chanals with concrete ones, the construction of underground water lines, the promotion of drip irrigation and pivot irrigation are the main priorities of our effective water management policy.”

Minister said that Azerbaijan has joined these initiatives with great enthusiasm and is ready for effective cooperation within such multilateral platforms stressing that the initiatives of FAO in the direction of rational use of land and water resources, digitalization of agriculture are supported,.

Minister Majnun Mammadov also met with Gu Dongyu, who was re-elected as chairman of the FAO within the framework of the 43rd session. Minister emphasized that our country cooperates successfully with FAO and said that this cooperation contributes to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Further expansion of Azerbaijan-FAO relations, FAO digital agriculture, support for effective water management initiatives and other issues of mutual interest were discussed at the meeting.

Minister Majnun Mammadov also met with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel, Ari Ditcher. The parties touched upon the prospects of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel in the agricultural fields and exchanged views on the application of modern Israel technologies in the agriculture of Azerbaijan.