Baku, Azerbaijan, May 12
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Leyla Aliyeva has been a great supporter of FAO’s work and an advocate for enlightening policies and messages, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia Vladimir Rakhmanin said in an interview with Trend.
“We have strategic collaboration with the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA), through which we will be able to deliver still more – in Azerbaijan and around the world,” he said. “We are grateful for this. Recently, working with IDEA, we established orchards in 16 schools in Azerbaijan. Joint projects will continue in the future.”
Rakhmanin pointed out that FAO’s partnership with Azerbaijan has great potential as a model for FAO assistance across the world.
He said the FAO Partnership and Liaison Office and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Agriculture have already launched the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Program and will soon finalize the first programming cycle with the following program areas: sustainable development of agriculture through an improved seed sector, sustainable livestock production and management, breeding work in apiculture and pollinators.
“These programs will soon be operational,” Rakhmanin added.
Rakhmanin noted that the Partnership and Liaison Office will continue to support the endeavors of Azerbaijani government in line with the Strategic Road Map on agriculture and the agricultural products’ processing sector.
FAO’s assistance will help the country achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on poverty alleviation in rural areas, food security, gender equality, responsible consumption (no food waste) and production, and sustainable management of natural resources, he added.
“We are ready to support Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Statistics Committee, and the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development in monitoring, implementation and reporting on SDG targets,” said Rakhmanin.
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