Inception Workshop Held to Advance Agricultural Land Market Development in Azerbaijan

An Inception Workshop was held today in Baku to address land abandonment issues and enhance land consolidation procedures under the FAO regional project, "Enhancing agricultural land market development to address land abandonment and improve land consolidation procedures (GCP/SEC/022/TUR)."

The workshop was conducted with the aim to support the operationalization of land banking instruments and foster the development of the institutional capacity required to implement land banking and other land market development measures in beneficiary countries, including Azerbaijan.

"It is worthy of appreciation that the work to be done within the framework of the project will contribute to the development of the institutional capacity and the land market for the implementation of land bank operations, to solve the problem of abandonment of agricultural land and to improve the structure of farms by serving to ensure the sustainable use of agricultural land. The project will help launch land bank service tools in Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as assess the requirements and feasibility of land market development tools in Uzbekistan." Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan Ilhama Gadimova said in her speech during the event.

In an effort to engage key stakeholders and provide a comprehensive overview, the discussions were held on land reform practices from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, land consolidation, banking, and country-specific land situations.

Mr. Nasar Hayat, FAO Representative and Head of FAO Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan, said that “developing land markets is crucial for agricultural development in order to enhance the role of the sector in national economy”"

The meeting brought together the stakeholders, representatives of government representatives, and experts from different organizations. This initiative is a testament to the collaborative efforts being made to ensure sustainable agricultural development in Azerbaijan.