Page 48 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

Emin Teymurov: Current State and Future Perspectives of Agricultural Exports of Azerbaijan: Bilateral
and Multilateral Aspects

relevant State Programmes that will ensure country’s smooth transition to more diversified,
competitive, sustainable, as well as bio-economy. The implementation of targets for
creating favorable environment to achieve formation of production and processing sector
of competitive agricultural products is planned based on sustainable development principles
in the country through realization of the Strategic Roadmap on production and processing
of agricultural products in Azerbaijan. The objective of the State Programme on Socio-
Economic Development of Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2014-2018 is the
continuation of activities aimed at the development of the non-oil sector, economic
diversification, equal development of regions of the country, further improvement of
infrastructure and social services related to rural development. Based on the State
Programme on Development of Agricultural Cooperation in the Republic of Azerbaijan in
2017-2022, the Ministry of Agriculture will engage in the issues on development of
agricultural cooperation, implement relevant measures by taking into account the
experience of leading countries on agricultural cooperatives.

Aiming to further improve the agricultural sector, as well as to raise the international
competitiveness of agricultural goods, Azerbaijan took the following measures in
recent years:

- Several agro-parks have been established with the relevant decree of the
Government in the various regions of Azerbaijan in order to increase production of
agricultural goods, to support small and medium enterprises, to contribute to the
economic growth and effective use of labor forces in the rural areas. Currently the
work is ongoing, as the country is planning on constructing modern production and
processing plants, cattle-breeding complexes, milk processing and mixed fodder
factories, hothouses, fishery complexes and gardening farms in these agrarian parks.

- In order to contribute to the food security, as well as to address growing needs of farmers
for high quality seeds, State Seed Fund under the Ministry of Agriculture was established.
Moreover, Azerbaijan has been in contact with Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) Secretariat to take part in their Seeding Programme. Therefore,
an Expert Group was planned to visit Azerbaijan to examine local seeding schemes and
based on this assessment, further cooperation directions would be determined.

- According to the very Road Map, supporting the establishment of the chain of agro-
parks (including agro-industrial cluster) is one of the national economic policy
priorities. Azerbaijan has built 32 large farms comprising in total 44 thousand ha area

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