Agriculture Minister: Only 12-15% of registered farmers can obtain loans in Azerbaijan

Recent studies reveal that only 12-15% of farmers registered in the Electronic Agricultural Information System (EKTIS) can obtain loans, Azerbaijani Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov said in an exclusive interview with Report.

“New initiatives are currently being drafted together with the Central Bank of Azerbaijan regarding the creation of a number of additional mechanisms to improve farmers' access to credit, and we will see the results from time to time,” the minister said.

“It's crucial to note that the government's approach to agricultural regulation is not solely focused on employment figures. In fact, Azerbaijan has one of the highest rates of agricultural employment globally - a statistic that isn't necessarily positive. The challenge now lies not in creating new agricultural jobs, but in expanding income-generating opportunities for those already employed in the sector.

Over the past two decades, there has been a consistent decline in agricultural employment worldwide, both in relative and absolute terms. Global statistics show a 13.5 percentage point decrease in agriculture's share of total employment, with the absolute number of agricultural workers declining by approximately 13%. This trend is characteristic of countries aiming to develop more competitive modern industrial and service sectors,” said Majnun Mammadov.

You can read the full interview here.