Administrative Barriers for Agricultural Production in Greenhouses Discussed

The topic of yesterday’s public debate in the conference hall of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan was administrative barriers faced by small entrepreneurs engaged in the production of agricultural commodities under greenhouse conditions.

The Chairman of the Development Assistance Fund for Entrepreneurship and Market Economy (DAF) Sabit Baghirov said the study revealed the presence of barriers to the greenhouse business and its development on the part of government agencies.

The expert at the Center for Economic Research, Vahid Maharramov based on statistics stressed that despite the presence of the potential (land, climatic conditions), Azerbaijan lags behind many countries in the world, both in terms of production of vegetables in greenhouses and their yields.

A member of the research team of the Center, Ghalib Togrul pointed to the problems faced by entrepreneurs during the passage of licensing procedures for the construction of greenhouses. According to him, many greenhouses have not passed state registration as business entities, and some did not meet the technical requirements.

The Dutch entrepreneur Leonardus Svegers spoke about his own experience of growing vegetables in greenhouses and the efficiency of modern technology.

The discussions were held in the format of "round table" of the Center within the project "Promoting development of small business in Azerbaijan." The project is implemented by DAF with the financial assistance of USAID. The round table brought together representatives of the private sector, NGOs, lawyers and experts. --08D--