The Azerbaijani delegation participated in the 34th session of the European Regional Conference of FAO

The 34th session of the European Regional Conference (ERC) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was held in Rome, Italy.

State institutions, private sector, representatives of international organizations and specialists working in the agricultural field from 53 countries participated in the event.

Azerbaijan was represented at the international event by a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ilhama Gadimova.

By giving a speech at the event, Director General of FAO Gu Dongyu touched upon the issues of creating a sustainable agricultural system in line with modern challenges and increasing productivity while protecting the environment. Gu Dongyu noted that it is extremely important to build more sustainable agro-food systems and expand global cooperation in these directions in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals against the background of global challenges. The FAO official noted that such measures make an important contribution to the work of determining priorities in the direction of the development of the agricultural sector.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ilhama Gadimova mentioned about the reforms carried out in the agrarian field in our country, informed about the main directions of the agrarian development strategy in Azerbaijan and the implementation of innovative projects. Speaking about the impact of global climate change on the agricultural sector, Ilhama Gadimova emphasized the need for efficient use of land and water resources against the modern challenges.

The deputy minister touched on the importance of holding the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Azerbaijan and spoke about the measures implemented in our country to minimize the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector.

The role of innovation and digitization in the sustainable use of natural resources was specially discussed at the event. Experts emphasized the importance of distribution of water resources by sectors and accurate accounting, expansion of the application of modern irrigation systems to manage the impact of global climate changes on water sources.

In the session, ideas were exchanged on the provision of food and food security in the world against the rapid population growth, changing consumer demands, climate change and depletion of natural resources. The participants of the event pointed out that cooperation in the areas of digital transformation of agriculture, technology transfer in this field, sharing of advanced practices is necessary to ensure food security.

It should be noted that within the framework of the event, a meeting was held with the Azerbaijani delegation and the Chairman of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Nosipho Jezile. At the meeting, the application of advanced practices in the agricultural field in our country, the prospects of cooperation were discussed, and a wide range of opinions were exchanged on issues of mutual interest.