The regional climate seminar on "Strengthening climate measures in the agro-food sector of European and Central Asian countries" continues its work with panel sessions. At the panel session, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ilhama Gadimova gave a presentation on the work done in preparation for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in November this year. He expressed his confidence that the Baku Harmony Climate Initiative for Farmers, one of the 14 initiatives on the Action Agenda of COP29, will make an important contribution to global efforts towards the transformation of agro-food systems into a more sustainable and sustainable model by bringing together stakeholders in building climate-resilient agricultural systems.

Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Vugar Karimov said that the initiatives of the COP29 Action Agenda cover various aspects of climate change negotiations, including finance, trade, energy, peace, food, water, agriculture, science, technology, health, urbanization, transport and covers other areas. He added that the decisions to be made at COP29 will be important in reducing the effects of climate change.

Firudin Tagiyev, head of the Department of Land Use Control of the Ministry of Agriculture, touched on the effects of global climate change on agriculture and food security and the work done to minimize these effects. The head of the department drew attention to the preparation of the Strategy Plan by the Ministry based on international experiences, promoting the country's policy in the direction of adaptation to climate change and mitigating its effects. He added that the document envisages the implementation of regular climate-proof projects related to agriculture between the state and the private sector.

Saying that the agricultural sector is more sensitive to the effects of climate change, Anar Azimov, the deputy chairman of the Agrarian Services Agency, reminded that the productivity of the whole world is likely to decrease by 2050 due to climate change. He stressed that it is important to take immediate and immediate measures to ensure food security.

Leyla Jabbarli, Deputy Chairman of Agrarian Credit and Development Agency, spoke about the opportunities provided by the Harmony Climate Initiative. He called this initiative a platform that promotes inclusive cooperation between different sectors and stakeholders. The official of the agency emphasized that the Harmony Climate Initiative has created many advantages for interested parties, such as facilitating investment attraction for the transformation of agricultural systems, providing real-time monitoring, and ensuring the comprehensive development of value chains up to global markets.

Martial Bernoux, Chief Natural Resources Specialist of FAO's Office of Climate Change, Environment and Biodiversity, and Liva Kaugure, Natural Resources Specialist of the aforementioned office, emphasized the importance of cooperation within the framework of initiatives such as Harmony and "Sustainable Transformation for Food and Agriculture" (FAST) in their speeches. Foreign experts added that Azerbaijan contributes to this cooperation as a member of the Board of Directors and co-chairman of the FAST initiative.

Speaking at the event, FAO experts spoke on the topics of Sustainable Development Goals, "Digital Solutions for Climate Resilient Agricultural Systems", "Agricultural Loss and Damage Assessment: European and Central Asian Experience", as well as FAO's climate change planning to increase climate resilience, implementation, monitoring and reporting activities were presented.

The seminar will continue tomorrow.