Azerbaijan, Baku, 8 April / corr. Trend S. Babayeva/ The United States Agency for International Development, USAID has announced the completion of a program on competitive capacity in agriculture in Azerbaijan. The program which was launched in October 2003, has involved 127 small and medium businesses of which product sales rose to $120mln, investments totalled $25mln and over 4,000 jobs were created.
The cooperation with State Veterinary Service was established and a number of training sessions were held in regional laboratories as part of the fight against bird flu.
The program assisted in improving domestic export sales and strengthening direct foreign investments.
The program provided technical assistance to fields including marketing, certification on ISO/HACCP standards, electronic book-keeping and registration system, strategic plan of action, the development of beneficial business plans and the companies manufacturing juices, hazel nuts, poultry, stewed fruit, bewerage, tomato paste, dairy produce and carpets.
Until now USAID has allocated some $284mln for Azerbaijan.