Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Vice President of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Director General of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Academician Irada Huseynova participated as a speaker at the COP29 climate conference at the invitation of Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director, CGIAR. The event titled “Science and Innovation for Low Emission and Resilient Food Systems,” was jointly held by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CGIAR and other international organizations.

CGIAR is a vast partnership system uniting 15 international research centers located on various continents (https://www.cgiar.org/research/research-centers). As Academician Irada Huseynova noted in her speech, the Republic of Azerbaijan established close cooperative relations with many of these centers, particularly during years of independence.

At the event dedicated to Food and Agriculture Day, Dr. Ismahane Elouafi highlighted the close connection between the climate change and food security. She emphasized that many of the 500 million small-scale farmers, who supply one-third of the world’s food and account for 83% of global agriculture, live in regions particularly affected by climate change. Applied innovations can provide a roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In her speech, Academician Irada Huseynova at first drew attention to the adverse effects of climate change on agricultural systems and the environmental issues relevant to Azerbaijan. She emphasized that the priority research directions proposed by the Biological and Medical Sciences Divisions of ANAS aim to contribute to solving the relevant problems. Academician Irada Huseynova also spoke about the support provided by international centers of CGIAR to the country’s agricultural research system during the years of independence, and the achievements and prospects of the scientific institutions. Her presentation was attentively listened to, received with great interest, and proposals for future collaboration were appreciated and extensive discussions were held on the subject.

The event also featured presentations on the role of science and innovation in agricultural systems to achieve nature-related goals by Dr. Silvia Massruhá, President of EMBRAPA, Dr. Ramón Pichs-Madruga, Vice-Chair of IPCC, Mr. Kubota Osamu, Dep. Asst. Minister, Export and Int. Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP25 Presidency Gonzalo Muñoz.

The event concluded with closing speech by Dr. Vincent Martin, Director, Office of Innovation, FAO.

Reyhan Majidli, Public Relations, Press and Information Department of the Presidium Administration of ANAS

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