The next Agrarian Business Festival of the current year was held in Tovuz district, organized by the Agrarian Innovation Center. Farmers from Agstafa, Gadabay, Gazakh, Shamkir, Tovuz districts participated in the festival, which covered the Gazakh-Tovuz economic region. Various agricultural products, machinery and equipment were exhibited at the festival. Farmers got acquainted with seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, modern irrigation technologies, climate-resistant innovative solutions and digital systems in the agricultural sector, modern agricultural machinery, and received detailed information about their application. More than 150 farmer entrepreneurs representing women's development and enterprise groups from different regions of the country demonstrated and sold their products at the event.
Opening the event with an introductory speech, the Head of the Tovuz District Executive Power, Mammad Mammadov, provided information about the attention and care shown by the state to the agricultural sector, noting that the Agrarian Business Festivals will make a significant contribution to the development of the agricultural sector in the region. In his speech, the Director of the Agrarian Innovation Center, Anar Jafarov, touched upon the importance of applying modern technologies in agriculture and introducing farmers to innovative solutions. He emphasized that the goal of the festival is to create an environment of mutually beneficial cooperation and sustainable development among all stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Addressing the festival participants, Anar Jafarov called on farmers to accelerate the process of applying new technologies in the agricultural sector.
Then, Elgun Mahammadelizade, Chairman of "Agricultural Procurement and Supply" OJSC, Leyli Agayeva, Head of the Department for Work with Farmers, Associations and Cooperatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Sakina Babayeva, Chairman of the Association for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan, Gulbeniz Ganbarova, Chairman of the Association of Rural Women of Azerbaijan, Zhale Hajiyeva, Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Microfinance Association, and Vugar Zeynalov, Vice President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASK), spoke about the support provided by the state to the agricultural sector, especially preferential loans and other financial mechanisms, and noted the importance of farmers using these opportunities effectively.
A credit fair was held as part of the festival to facilitate farmers' access to financial resources. Financial institutions, banks and non-bank credit organizations participating in the fair provided farmers with information on preferential loans, financial support mechanisms for the agricultural sector, and insurance opportunities.
In addition to the exhibition part, trainings for farmers were also organized at the festival. Kochari Hasanov, founder of Agrosystems, spoke about the importance of ensuring the sustainability of food products at optimal temperatures during the training on the topic of “Long-term storage of fruit and vegetable products and the application of the cold chain”. The training on the topic of “Increasing financial literacy” served to increase the financial literacy of farmers.
Within the framework of the festival, the "Development of Agricultural Cooperatives" Forum was held to strengthen the activities of cooperatives operating in the agricultural sector and expand their market access opportunities.
The first panel discussion of the forum, dedicated to the topic of "Support for the Formation and Strategic Development of Cooperatives", exchanged views on the establishment, management and development prospects of cooperatives. In the second part of the forum, in the panel discussions on the topic of "Development of cooperatives: initiatives and successful experiences", the founders of the "Akasiya", "Western Innovations", "Chinar" agricultural production and consumption cooperatives and the "Lankaran Natural Products" production cooperative shared their experiences in entrepreneurial activity and the development of cooperatives in the agricultural sector.
The forum was organized to stimulate more active participation of entrepreneurs in the business environment in the regions and strengthen cooperation between cooperatives.
