BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 28
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Integration of arable land from the liberated territories of Azerbaijan into national crop rotation could potentially improve food security, FAO official told Trend.
The official noted that a sharp increase has been observed in global food prices over the year 2021. The Food Price Index computed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations averaged 133.7 points in December 2021, up 25.1 points (23.1 percent) from December 2020. This pinpoints that food prices have risen to the highest level in the world over the past decade.
“During the last year, a number of factors contributed to this increase. The breakdown of the value chain, unfavorable weather conditions, rise in energy prices and high costs of inputs, as well as the steady increase in demand for food are among the main factors leading to rising food prices. Projections suggest that food prices are likely to remain high also in 2022. Rising food prices, restored worldwide concern about nutrition and food security all over the world. At the national level, food security is a situation through which a state is able to meet the food demand of its population on a continuous and stable basis,” the official said.
In their words, despite the fact that agricultural production in Azerbaijan increased significantly over the last decade the country is still a net exporter of food.
“Thus, rising food prices in the world market affects domestic prices for food and puts food security on the top of the government agenda. Based on the most recent information provided by the Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, in December 2021, the consumer price index for food, beverages and tobacco products increased by 2.6 percent compared to the previous month, 15.8 percent compared to December of the previous year (2020),” the official said.
Official added that increasing productivity in the agriculture sector could mitigate the negative effects of global food prices in Azerbaijan while reducing the risk of food insecurity.
“Additionally, in 2022 and the following years, integration arable land from the liberated territories of Azerbaijan into national crop rotation, which is estimated to be more than 150 thousand hectares could potentially improve food security while making food available with affordable prices for the population,” the official concluded.
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