USAID Celebrates Women’s Role in Azerbaijan’s Agriculture

Baku/15.10.21/Turan: As part of its efforts to promote women’s economic empowerment in Azerbaijan, on October 15, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency (AKIA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Azerbaijan Rural Women's Association (ARWA), co-hosted a conference dedicated to International Rural Women’s Day titled “Women's Economic Empowerment in the Agricultural Sector.”  The conference celebrated the significant role of women in enhancing Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector, particularly in rural areas, and explored methods by which the public and private sector can support women in this effort.

More than 50 attendees at the conference participated in critical information-sharing among rural women's organizations and informal groups, and discussed collaboration between the public and private sectors in order to enhance the economic resilience of rural women in the sector.

According to USAID Mission Director Jaidev Singh, “Women entrepreneurs are an increasingly important factor in Azerbaijan’s economy, especially in the agricultural sector.  When women are economically empowered, they re-invest in their families and communities, producing a multiplier effect that spurs economic growth and contributes to global peace and stability.”

Head of FAO Partnership and Liaison Office Melek Chakmak said, “Today, we celebrate the efforts of women and girls who play a crucial role in agriculture, food security and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  We all need to work together to spark the necessary changes to empower women and girls, particularly those in rural areas.”

“As an association, our goal is to increase the skills of rural women and create new opportunities for them to make a greater contribution to the regional economy.  Today, we are very pleased to observe that government agencies and international organizations have come together for this purpose and value the activities of rural women,” said Gulbaniz Ganbarova, ARWA Chairperson.

Prominent representatives from the Government of Azerbaijan, non-profit organizations, and local agricultural groups participated in the discussion, providing recommendations on building a conducive enabling environment for rural entrepreneurship and women in agriculture.  These included Azerbaijani women’s associations, and high-level officials from USAID, FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Small and Medium Business Development Agency, the State Employment Agency, the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency, and the State Committee on Family, Women and Children’s Affairs.

USAID supported the conference through the Women in Associations component of its Private Sector Activity (PSA).  Activities supported by the PSA program strengthen women-focused, women-led businesses and professional associations, including those in the agricultural sector.  The PSA program also promotes women’s roles as advocates in business and the workplace in order to advance women’s entrepreneurship as an important growth component of the Azerbaijani economy.This is reported by USIAD.--0--