Leyla Aliyeva: Food security important for peace, stability and sustainability

Food security and rural development are important factors for ensuring peace, stability and sustainability in the world, vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, goodwill ambassador of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Leyla Aliyeva said.

She made the remarks at an event dedicated to World Food Day, being held in ADA University in Baku on October 16.

The event was organized by the IDEA Public Union, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture and FAO.

Stressing the importance of the World Food Day, Aliyeva noted that the current problems in that sphere can lead to conflicts, hunger and mass migration.

“Migration is not obligatory,” she said, adding that the choice must be voluntary and it is necessary to invest in the development of the districts for millions of people not to leave their native lands.

Speaking at the event Melek Cakmak, Head of FAO’s new Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan highly appreciated Azerbaijan’s efforts to ensure food security.

“Azerbaijan has achieved great progress in the field of food security and successfully continues its efforts to strengthen food security through the implementation of effective management systems,” she said.

Cakmak expressed her gratitude to the President and the government of Azerbaijan, as well as the IDEA Public Union for diversifying the economy, their firm commitment to invest in agriculture, productive cooperation within the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Program for 2016-2020 and for supporting the diversification of the agricultural sector.

The event, organized under the slogan "Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development", is aimed at determining the impact on production, social tension and equality of migration and remittance flows, improving perceptions of their effects on poverty and food security.

The purpose of the event is to determine the challenges faced by policy-makers in the agricultural sector, researchers, financial organizations and donor agencies to cope with migration and more efficiently manage remittances, understand the impact of gender relations on migration, develop migration policy and policy for integrated rural development, explore additional value as a result of encouraging them.

The event is also aimed at determining the most progressive experience in places where migration has contributed to the development of rural areas, discussing relevant policy and highlighting best practices, determining areas and opportunities for broad cooperation with FAO and other interested sides.