Agriculture can be successful, sustainable and competitive in the long run only if state-of-the-art technology is employed, stated Minister for Agriculture of Hungary István Nagy at a conference in Baku held with the title “The Opportunities of Using Hungarian Know-how in Technologies for Innovation, Irrigation in the Field of Agriculture in Farms in Azerbaijan.”
The Minister drew the attention to the fact that the Covid pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the markets, as well as the ways of dining and consuming. Besides this, the capabilities of having food security and autonomy in foodstuffs have also become reevaluated. He added that from the point of view increasing efficiency, digital technologies, as well as husbandry with precision are becoming more and more important tools. For this reason, István Nagy called the attention to the Digital Agrarian Strategy of Hungary. By employing the new, innovative solutions, collecting and processing information, automatizing and robotizing technological procedures, we can greatly contribute to increasing the profitability of agricultural production. The Minister for Agriculture also pointed out that climate change encourages farmers to plant breeding species that endure droughts, as well as increasing the area of irrigated fields.
During his visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan, István Nagy held a meeting with Minister for Agriculture Inam Karimov. The Sides agreed that as far as breeding animals are concerned, the cooperation in agricultural trade should be further strengthened. They also drew the attention to developing research and breeding plants and seeds. The Hungarian Minister also met Minister for Labor and Social Protection Sahil Babayev with whom he exchanged views on the necessity of change in generations and social programs in agriculture, as well as the opportunities for cooperation in the field of vocational training and higher education.
István Nagy expressed his belief that the Conference and his official negotiations strengthen not only our relations with Azerbaijan but contribute to learning about the technological innovations and the already applied good practices of each other. As a result of the visit of the Minister for Agriculture of Hungary to Baku, the cooperation in the fields of animal husbandry and growing plants can be supplemented by further agreements, for example, ones that concern sowing seeds, as well as research into corn and rice.
