BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 26. The speech of
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at a meeting dedicated to the
country's agriculture is a new roadmap for the agricultural sector,
political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.
He said that the President's statements made at the meeting are
considered important messages in terms of regional development,
food security, and the future strategy of agriculture in
Azerbaijan.
According to the analyst, one of the main points of the speech
was the acceleration of the flow from villages to cities and its
assessment as a serious socio-economic problem for the state.
"President Ilham Aliyev, calling this process a 'negative
trend', said that the main goal is not to ensure a return from
villages to cities, but rather from cities to villages.
This approach shows that the government does not intend to limit
the development of regions only to infrastructure projects.
Although major projects related to gasification, electricity, water
supply, roads, schools, and hospitals have been implemented in the
last 20 years, the stagnation observed in agriculture in recent
years is worrying. It is clear from the words of President Ilham
Aliyev that in the new stage, the main focus will be on increasing
productivity, reducing dependence on imports, and transforming
agriculture into a more profitable sector," Garayev explained.
The analyst noted that one of the main points of attention in
the speech was the issue of food security.
"Against the backdrop of wars, logistics problems, energy
crisis, and climate change in the world, the state considers
increasing domestic production a strategic issue. The figures
announced by President Ilham Aliyev show that although Azerbaijan
is fully self-sufficient in some products, it remains dependent on
imports, especially for wheat, vegetable oil, butter, and some meat
products. For example, the country's self-sufficiency in wheat of
only 55% was assessed by President Ilham Aliyev as 'unacceptable'.
This indicates that grain growing will be one of the main priority
areas in the coming years," Garayev also said.
He pointed out that at the same time, the speech also
demonstrated the increasing importance of technology and modern
management in agriculture.
"President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the importance of conducting
electronic analysis of lands, using artificial intelligence and
satellite technologies. This approach shows that the government
intends to transfer agriculture from traditional methods to a more
digital and innovative model. The ideas voiced regarding water
supply also attract special attention. The construction of new
reservoirs, the restoration of water infrastructure in Karabakh and
East Zangezur, and the reconstruction of the Shirvan and Karabakh
canals are considered one of the main conditions for the future
development of agriculture. According to the plans announced by the
President, hundreds of thousands of hectares of land can be
provided with modern irrigation systems in the coming years, which
will lead to a significant increase in productivity," the analyst
said.
He noted that the role of the private sector was also
particularly emphasized in the speech.
"President Ilham Aliyev called on both local and foreign
investors to invest in agriculture and stated that the state will
continue to provide preferential loans, subsidies, and other
support mechanisms in this area. According to rough estimates, the
upcoming program envisages investments of more than 2 billion manat
($1.18 billion) by the state and more than 3 billion manat ($1.76
billion) by the private sector. This indicates that agriculture
will be one of the main economic priorities of Azerbaijan in the
coming years.
In general, President Ilham Aliyev's speech gives reason to say
that the government considers agriculture not only as an agrarian
sector, but also as a strategic direction in terms of regional
development, employment, food security, and social stability. The
main goal of the new State Program to be adopted in the coming
years will be to increase productivity in agriculture, reduce
imports, and make life in the regions more attractive," Garayev
concluded.
