Baku (UNA-OIC) – Chairperson of the Board of Agro Procurement and Supply Leyla Mammadova, acting as the National Coordinator of the Azerbaijan Women in Agriculture (also known as AFAQ Project), said her country has informed the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the damage caused to the Azerbaijani agricultural sector due to the Armenian forces’ aggression on the border areas.
Mammadova made the statements Thursday following her participation in Tuesday’s online meeting initiated by the FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan “I delivered detailed information to the international experts concerning the aggressive policy of the Armenian side against Azerbaijan, the regular firing with various weapons against civilians living in the border areas and occupied position lasting for years,” she said.
As the AFAQ Project stands to help women with small and midsize business in agricultural sector in rural areas, representatives from Agro Procurement and Supply OJSC as well as international experts from FAO participated in the virtual meeting to discuss the support for the growth of agro entrepreneurship in the regions following the current discord between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
With the main goal of improving food security, socially inclusive rural development, and sustainable livelihoods resulting from rural women’s empowerment, the meeting turned to tackle the worldwide issue of the coronavirus pandemic that creates deviances in relation to the tensions between the two countries.
“Notwithstanding the unprecedented challenges evolved by the coronavirus pandemic, in particular, we have decided to work more closely in the near future with women farmers living in the border areas that come under fire from the Armenian army,” the Azerbaijani official noted.
The project aims to discuss and construct a conducive plan with the help of the representatives to aid the rural people of Azerbaijan in getting through these challenging times.
AB/UNA-OIC
