PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Marie
K. Thompson; mkthompson@ifdc.org
DATE: April 28, 2003
IFDC
Conducts Policy Workshop in Baku, Azerbaijan
Baku,
Azerbaijan, April 28, 2003—The President of the Association of
Agribusinessmen of Kyrgyzstan—Asilbek Jeenbekov—appreciates the
opportunity of attending a recent IFDC policy workshop in
Azerbaijan. “Private
sector dealers confront many constraints such as lack of access to
credit and information, unfavorable tax policies, absence of
truth-in-labeling legislation and enforcement, delays in registering
new seed varieties, and other impediments,” says Jeenbekov.
“During the Baku workshop I discovered that I am not
alone—entrepreneurs in most of the countries in our region have
similar challenges.”
A
workshop that IFDC staff recently conducted in Azerbaijan may
provide the spark that is needed to remedy the unfavorable situation
in these countries. The
workshop entitled, “Designing Policies and Institutions That
Promote Competitive Agricultural Input Markets in Transitional
Economies,” was conducted in Baku during April 7-11.
The
fourth in a series of policy training workshops, this event
attracted 51 participants from 8 countries:
Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
“The purpose of the workshop was to promote the development
of agricultural inputs markets in the transitional economies through
appropriate policies and supportive institutions,” says Dr. Balu
L. Bumb, Workshop Leader. “The
activity focused on the issues related to the development of seed,
fertilizer and CPPs and agricultural systems in general.”
The
workshop’s main objectives were to:
- Assess
the functioning and performance of input supply systems in
transitional economies.
- Identify
the policies and institutions needed to develop well-functioning
inputs markets.
- Share
experiences and lessons among different country participants
The
Mission Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
in Baku, William D. McKinney, opened the workshop; in his
presentation McKinney stressed that well-functioning inputs markets
are essential for modernizing agriculture and creating wealth in
rural areas and promoting national well being.
His opening remarks were followed by a keynote address for
Richard Lacroix, Senior Advisor, Agricultural Processing, Europe and
Central Asia Region, World Bank, who identified policy and
institutional constraints and options for developing agricultural
markets. Lacroix
stressed the need for creating favorable policy environments and
supportive regulatory systems for markets and agribusiness
development and identified areas where government regulation of
economic activity may be desirable.
Representing IFDC during the workshop were: M. Feisal Beig, IFDC Senior Marketing Specialist; Dr. B. L.
Bumb, IFDC Senior Economist; Manfred J. Smotzok, Chief of Party,
IFDC/Azerbaijan; Channing A. Sieben, Chief of Party, IFDC/Kyrgyzstan;
and Daniel F. Waterman, Acting Director, IFDC Training and Workshop
Department.
Following
the keynote address a series of lectures focused on various thematic
issues such as macropolicy issues, market development issues, and
capacity building for market development.
Participants were assigned to one of three discussion groups
to review the program, identify common issues and constraints, and
make suggestions for improvement.
All presentations were made using simultaneous translation.
The
workshop was designed to expose participants to global issues
confronting the agricultural inputs industry and to provide a common
background in several areas such as pricing, marketing, and the role
of the government and the private sector in successful transitions.
Each of the participating countries provided a brief glimpse
of the situation in their home country.
This provided the informational base to enter into the
discussion groups and try to identify commonalities and ideas for
the future.
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