Association of Rural Women established in Azerbaijan

By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

Association of Rural Women of Azerbaijan was established by the Ministry of Agriculture together with the World Bank to support the social and economic development of rural women.

The presentation ceremony of the Association was held on March 5. Along with 350 women farmers, representatives of government agencies, international organizations also attended the event.

Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov congratulated women on International Women's Day on March 8 and wished them success.

Minister said that one of the main tasks facing the Ministry of Agriculture is the creation of business opportunities for women.

Karimov emphasized the necessity of using the potential of women. He noted that Ministry together with the World Bank (VB) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) implemented a number of projects jointly in this area. Business collectives consisting of women were organized in 14 regions of the republic.

Speaking at the event, Head of the State Service on Management of Agricultural Projects and Credits under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture Mirza Aliyev said that the association would act as a national network of Women's Development Groups in the country.

“Women's Development Groups will be networked at the regional and country level through the Rural Women's Association of Azerbaijan. This allows them to expand their business volume and scale. Association will also help them find resources and sell their products,” said Mirza Aliyev.

He said that this organization will strengthen the existing women's groups and will serve to create new groups.

So far, 30 Women Development Groups have been established to unite 361 women. These groups consist of 10-20 women and are trained on financial literacy, business and life skills training.

By the end of March 2019, Rural Women's Association is expected to join 40 Women's Development Teams, which incorporate 500 rural women. Women's Development Groups, which are the core of the Association, have been set up in March of 2018 as part of the Second Rural Investment Project, jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank.

Although the main task of the Agency is, first of all, to support agriculture, we support women's initiatives to increase employment in rural areas and improve the well-being of the population, said Aliyev.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the State Examination Center (SEC) Maleyka Abbaszade spoke about the important steps taken by our state in raising women's employment.

Head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Partnership and Liasion Office in Azerbaijan Melek Cakmak said that about 50 percent of the agricultural workers in Azerbaijan are women. In this sense, the use of their potential is a demand of the day. In this regard, FAO and World Bank will continue joint projects with the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan.

Chairwoman of Azerbaijani State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova spoke about the activities of female entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan, appreciated the projects and works implemented in this direction. Referring to statistical figures, the chairwoman of the committee said that currently 35 percent of total entrepreneurs are women in our country.

An exhibition of handicrafts, as well as bakery, sweets and other products made by members of the Association of Rural Women of Azerbaijan was organized within the event.