A year before the country was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, Tahmina Isayeva from Zaqatala district in the northwest of Azerbaijan started a small business of drying fruits in her kitchen. “In the beginning it was my hobby to preserve fruits by drying them. We arranged fruits on the drying tray with spaces between for good air circulation and then set the tray in the sun for some days. It is a traditional method, but it is a long process,”says Tahmina. “It started quite well and my acquaintances became my first consumers. For a year, I produced almost 300 kilograms of dry fruits. It was not easy as I did all the processing myself – harvested apples, plums and figs from our garden or bought fruits from the bazaar,” she said. However, in 2019, the Women’s Resource Centre in Zaqatala, awarded  Tahmina a fruit dry processing machine to enhance her business. Although the pandemic challenged her business’s profibility, she used this time as an opportunity to study and bring her production to the next level. Now she is the first commercial producer of dried fruits in her village. “The pandemic was a big challenge for my business as people’s capacity to pay decreased. I was not disappointed. Instead, I was searching tips to improve my business and started setting up the production process with the involvement of other women. Also I plan to get a quality certificate for my products to increase selling at the market,”  Tahmina said. Fruit and vegetable culture Fruits are a big part of the culture and economy of Azerbaijan. The country’s varied climate ensures that fresh fruit can be picked all year round.  Some fruits and vegetables are celebrated with local harvest festivals, highlighting their importance for the community and national economy. According to Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee, exports of fruits and vegetables in 2020 amounted to USD 607.7 million and provided a third of the country’s total non-oil exports last year. Fruits are also as part of traditional Azerbaijani tea culture. Visitors to someone’s home, whatever the time of day, are always offered tea alongside bowls of dried fruits and nuts as well as various homemade jams. In fact, people in Azerbaijan joke that jam can be made from everything if you just add sugar. Fruits and vegetables are also particularly important to another young Azerbaijani farmer, Jalal Alakbarov from the Samukh region in northwestern Azerbaijan. Jalal’s family has been in the business  for many years, mostly relying on traditional methods of production. As part of the new generation, however, Jalal is regularly looking to innovate with new techniques and technologies to better their business. While vegetable crops are mainly produced in open fields, Jalal and the younger generation have been using greenhouses to protect cultivation. Greenhouses better control production than in an open field and consequently leads to higher yields, better quality and better use of inputs. In the last 10 years, Jalal has managed to expand his farming, producing tomatoes and strawberries in greenhouses.  “I’ve gained new experiences from growing crops to pest control. Through these gains I achieved an increase in the yeild and profitability of my farm,” says Jalal, noting that he now shares this knowledge, gained in part through FAO’s field training, with other farmers. “No man is an island; we support each other, especially during the recent pandemic situation.” Like with Tahmina and farmers around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for Jalal. Quarantine measures created a shortage in labour. Decreases in income, meant decreased consumption and market prices of fruits and vegetables went down. Restrictions on market access also affected sales. “During the pandemic period food security became critical, especially when doctors recommended to eat healthy food and include fruits and vegetables on the daily menu. We, farmers, were like a regiment fighting against COVID-19, and I think we are winners in this war,”  Jalal concludes. Isa Aliyev, also from the Zaqatala district, is another successful fruit producer, specializing in homemade jams extracted from strawberry, pear, cherry and even tearose petals. But it is his green walnut jam that customers fervently seek out. It may just be a coincidence that the shell of a walnut looks like a tiny brain, but research suggests that this nut may indeed be good for your mind. Walnuts provide healthy fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals — and there are plenty of ways to use them in dishes, including the Azerbaijani preserve that Isa has perfected. “This is our main business,” describes Isa. “It is quite profitable, but at the same time it is a really time-consuming complex process, which takes up to 15 days to get a product ready for sale.” To make the jam, walnuts need to be harvested before the hard inner shell develops, when the inside is still light green and easily cut. For preserving, the size of green walnuts should be between a very large olive and a very small egg. Peeled walnuts are soaked in lime water for 10 days, rinsing frequently to wash away the naturally bitter taste of unripe walnuts. Walnuts are then cooked four times in the sugar syrup, adding cloves or cardamom to the pot. The green nuts turn into a dark mahogany brown and have a rich maple or date flavour. “Although during the pandemic we had to reduce production by five times as consumers’ purchasing power went down, we did not give up,” says Isa. “Tea in Azerbaijan is traditionally served with jams so our products will be in demand again.” With the desire to improve their practices and businesses, Tahmina, Jalal and Isa have all been in touch with FAO, participating in various projects throughout the country. One FAO project supported by the European Union is helping communities to promote farmers’ products globally, creating agriturism opportunities for foreign tourists. In Azerbaijan and countries worldwide, FAO focuses on providing family farmers with training and techniques to improve their production, reach more markets and ensure their food and nutrition security. Behind all of our food, there is always someone who produced, planted, harvested, fished or transported it. In the run up to World Food Day on October 16, we thank these #FoodHeroes who, no matter the circumstances, continue to provide food for their communities and beyond. There are countless ways to be a food hero in your community and now is a great time to start. Our actions are our future.

Ms. Andreeva brings 21 years of experience in international development, humanitarian coordination, advocacy, and partnership building, which she has acquired within the United Nations and externally through multiple assignments across Europe and Asia. At the United Nations, she most recently held the position of Country Director for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Cambodia and led the United Nations Country Team Task Force for COVID-19 preparedness and response. Before that she led efforts, as Strategic Intervention Adviser for the UNAIDS Regional Office for Asia-Pacific, to strengthen implementation of evidence-informed, human rights-based and gender-sensitive country programmes. She served as Monitoring and Evaluation Team Lead for UNAIDS Viet Nam prior to that. Ms. Andreeva also worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as Policy Advisor for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and was Advisor to the United Nations Resident Coordinator in North Macedonia. She took this position after serving with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also in North Macedonia. Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Andreeva worked with the non-profit organization Pharmaciens Sans Frontières and coordinated humanitarian relief for refugees. She holds a bachelor’s degree in dental medicine and a master’s degree in public health, from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Tahmina Isayeva from Zaqatala district in the northwest of Azerbaijan started a small business of drying fruits some months before the COVİD-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic challenged her business, she used this as an opportunity to bring the production to a new level.  Tahmina works as a teacher a village school and the rest of the time she is busy with home and yard. In 2019, she attended a series of training on business establishment and development, including business management and accounting, computer and English language sessions.   “At the beginning, it was my hobby to preserve fruits by drying them. We arranged fruits on the drying tray with spaces between them for good air circulation and then set the tray in the sun for several days. It is a traditional method, but it is a long process,”- recalled Tahmina, who is now the first producer of dry fruits in Mukhakh village of Zaqatala district. One day, she decided to dry fruits for sale. In 2019, the Women’s Resource Center in Zaqatala awarded her a fruit drying machine to launch the business. “It started quite well and people in my circle became first customers of my products. For a year, I produced almost 300 kg of dry fruits. It was not easy as I was dealing with all process myself – harvested apple, plum, cornels, fig and other fruits at our garden or bought exotic fruits like banana, kiwi and orange from a bazaar in wintertime,”- she said. The dry fruits business was not popular in Zaqatala in past. Usually, people in Azerbaijan bought some dry fruits for Novruz Bayram, a special celebration of spring’s beginning. Just a few years ago people’s interest to healthy food has increased and they started to buy this delicious snack rich in vitamins and minerals.   “After the COVID-19 pandemic, my sales plunged, as people’s capacity to pay decreased. But, I did not get disappointed. Instead, I was searching on the internet for tips to improve my business. Now I am setting up the production process at the yard and going to involve other women to work as a team,” – Tahmina noted by adding about her plans to apply for the national food safety registration to the Food Safety Agency in order to get access to the wider market and expand the business.  To develop the business, Tahmina also applied to the “Development of sustainable and inclusive local food systems in the northwest region of Azerbaijan” project implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the financial support of the European Union.  The project is mainly focused on creating local inclusive and efficient models of agriculture and the food system for selected local agri-food products, as well as facilitating access to markets by strengthening ties between producers and buyers and expanding the potential of agritourism in the region. It also allows small farmers and processors to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to create profitable and sustainable agricultural enterprises. “This kind of project is very useful and has positive impacts on us. Usually, women in villages and especially in farming are perceived as an invisible workforce and their role in rural communities are hardly recognized. The project creates not only income-generating opportunities for rural women but also makes them feel strong and confident; increases socializing improves their status in family and society,”- Tahmina concluded.

My arrival in Azerbaijan as United Nations Resident Coordinator in April 2016 coincided with significant socio-economic and geopolitical challenges in the country, some triggered by global events of unprecedented magnitude. First came the declining oil prices resulting in two rounds of currency devaluation in 2015 and 2016 and a double-digit inflation affecting the poor. Then came the escalation of the conflict with Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region culminating in a full-blown war in September 2020, which resulted in significant civilian and military casualties and served as a stark reminder to the international community that this conflict was not, contrary to accepted opinion, “frozen”.  Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic was another severe shock that negatively affected all segments of the population, particularly the poorest and the most vulnerable. The Government responded well to mitigate these short-term effects, though the challenge of long-term recovery is yet to be tackled. A common thread running through these events was the extraordinary resilience that Azerbaijani people displayed in the midst of severe challenges. Thousands of hardworking frontline workers, volunteers, and private businesses inspired hope as they took selfless actions to support their communities. Businesses and philanthropists donated millions, while young volunteers were mobilized in various ways, offering for instance medication and grocery shopping to older men and women and persons with disabilities who could not leave their homes.   Looking back at my five-year tenure, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the people of Azerbaijan for demonstrating incredible perseverance in the face of adversity. As we now look to the future, it is important to draw the needed lessons from these experiences and ensure the country is well-equipped to recover better and stronger. As the country is preparing to tackle the above challenges, the UNCT is poised to leverage the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework signed this year to help Azerbaijan align its Vision-2030, national development and recovery strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs provide a roadmap for inclusive and resilient recovery from COVID19 and the conflict.  With less than a decade left to fulfill the promise of leaving no one behind, aligning national development and recovery strategies with the SDGs is more critical than ever. Coherence between national policies and Azerbaijan’s commitment to global agreements, including Paris Agreement on Climate Change, is also critical to ensure socio-economic development is fully integrated with environmental objectives. The recent launch of Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for socio-economic development Strategy document is a promising start to this ten-year project. The vision comprises ambitious goals and aspirations to turn Azerbaijan into an advanced economy with a high welfare society over the next decade. It is particularly encouraging that the Strategy makes an explicit reference to complementarities between national policy priorities and Azerbaijan’s commitments arising from the 2030 Agenda.  As the Government develops its five-year strategy for implementation of the plan over the next few months, a number of key considerations should guide its thinking to ensure the change on people and the planet is transformational.   First, actively engage and build durable partnerships with diverse stakeholders in the planning, implementation, and monitoring stages. The most successful visioning plans are founded on the inclusive participation of actors including representatives of civil society, private sector, academia, youth movements, social media influencers and other groups.    Second, harness the lessons learnt from the pandemic and the conflict to prioritize interventions that reduce likelihood of future shocks and improve resilience if they materialize. For instance, efforts need to be accelerated to ensure universal health access and reduce the digital divide in schools and universities. Recovery planning should also give impetus to climate action, recognizing and addressing long-term damage to the environment and natural resources.  Third, develop a solid financial framework which sets out the broad investment direction to finance the Strategy. Costing exercise should be complemented by the assessment of financial landscape and identification of resource mobilization requirements. Against a fiscally constrained environment, alternative financing sources, including innovative financing tools should be explored.  Lastly, integrating the SDG indicators as performance indicators for the strategy document, as well as performance budget evaluation system is another important avenue to consider. This, along with improving the efficiency of spending, would reflect Azerbaijan’s commitment to achieve the SDGs. As Azerbaijan re-imagines its future, I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the UN’s commitment to supporting Azerbaijan on its path to sustainable development.  A wide range of expertise across many UN agencies could be drawn upon to accompany Government efforts in putting this ambitious plan into practice, and to ensure adequate costing of the strategy document with complementary analysis of the financing landscape. Our organization can provide a platform for effective engagement of various stakeholders in the implementation of this Strategy at national and local levels. Moreover, the UN in close partnership with the European Union and the World Bank is ready to assist Azerbaijan in its conflict recovery and peace building efforts by undertaking a Recovery and Peace Building Assessment (RPBA) exercise that would enable the large number of internally displaced population to return to their homes in safety and dignity.     I hope to come back to a country that has reached new heights in its path to success. It will be a challenging journey, but a journey worth taking.