On the 1st of February, 2023 a development forum on agro-business took place with the support of the State Agency for Agricultural Credit and Development under the Ministry of Agriculture. Managers of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economy and sub-organizations of both ministries, representatives of the Azerbaijan Banking Association, the Central Bank, and representatives of other banks and international organizations acting in the country participated in the forum.
Chairman of the Board of the Economic Scientific Research Institute (ESRI) Mahir Humbatov and staff members Shukur Guliyev and Parvin Idrisli attended the forum.
In her opening speech, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ilhama Gadimova informed about the government's support for the agricultural sector and the events organized on this topic. Later, the Chairman of the Board of the Small and Medium Business (SMB) Development Agency Orkhan Mammədov informed about the support and services provided by the SMB Development Agency to entrepreneurs in organizing and developing the agricultural sector.
In the next phase of the forum, the entrepreneurs who contribute to the development of the agricultural sector were awarded, and the forum ended with the third panel discussion.
Mahir Humbatov informed about the importance of using green energy in the agricultural sector. In particular, he mentioned the benefits of switching to green energy in the context of rising energy prices. In addition, Mahir Humbatov addressed issues such as ensuring ecological balance, foreign direct investment, a partnership between the public and private sectors through the application of innovative approaches in the agricultural sector, promotion of the market economy, monitoring and evaluation, organic production, etc.
Furthermore, he pointed out to the forum participants that it is important to promote the employment of women and young people in agriculture and to create new value-added jobs.
In conclusion, Mahir Humbatov answered the question about the analysis of the processing capacity and the current situation of these companies with the aim of generating new products by incorporating the products produced in the processing plants into various technological processes in order to avoid food waste and loss and create additional value.
