"The Wasserstein LOPAFA (Local Partner Farmer) Program has been developed to help and support local farmers with seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, agricultural knowledge, machine mechanisms, and aggregates, and we also buy the final products from the farmers", begin Ayaz Bayramov, CEO and Partner, and Jamel Nampijja, Vice President and Coordinator for Wasserstein projects, from iCsquared GmbH. "The Wasserstein LOPAFA Program is a very good platform for creating trust, confidence, and stability with local farmers. We believe the Wasserstein LOPAFA Program will be a successful platform, and other companies can also use our experience to build their programs to support local farmers to boost the agricultural economy in Azerbaijan.
Among others, Mr. Cengiz Hashimov – a local partner farmer who is a member of the Wasserstein LOPAFA Program has been announced as a champion of 2023/2024. "In the sense of this motivation and success stories by a local farmer, around 100 farmers, which are based in Shamkir region of Azerbaijan, have announced their readiness to be a part of Wasserstein LOPAFA Program."
Left: Local Farmer Partner Cengiz Hashimov at the Wasserstein LOPAFA Aghstafa Peanuts Plantation No 0525. Right: Ayaz Bayramov with local partner farmer Mukhtar at an asparagus plantation.
"Since we have had hard times with regular water supply in Nakhchivan, we understood that we have to bring European irrigation systems to Azerbaijan. With the support of the Italian-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, we established the so-called ISAWIC (Italy-Switzerland-Azerbaijan Water Initiative Consortium) which included Plastic-Puglia Srl of Italy, Polymart MMC of Azerbaijan, and the iCsquared GmbH Azerbaijan to start an irrigation systems production in Azerbaijan to help local farmers to buy irrigation systems at affordable prices with European quality. The initiative was supported by HE Majnun Mammadov, Minister of Agriculture, who we met in September for further discussions. ISAWIC will be an important platform to attract many new members to the Wasserstein LOPAFA Programs."
ISAWIC Team at the Polymart MMC factory in Baku
The most important challenge was to find proper state-owned lands which are under the State Property Services under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan. Bayramov and Nampijja underline that "from day one, at the meeting of Joint Swiss-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Economic Commission, December 2022, we saw big support by HE Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, minister's first deputy HE Elnur Aliyev, ministry's agencies, such as State Property Services, AZPROMO, as well as President's Office, and regions' governors; they are interested in Wasserstein projects, especially in involving local farmers in these projects and having processing plants to feed the domestic market and then boost the export potential."
Right: Zoltan Sztuchlik and Jamel Nampija after meeting with HE Mikayil Jabbarov - Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan at COP29
Getting support from public institutions was an essential part of having awareness regarding the projects, and Nampijja mentioned that at the meeting with Minister Jabbarov in the framework of COP29 Baku events, they got extra motivation from the minister to continue and expand their operations in Azerbaijan and also enter Central Asian countries, especially Uzbekistan. Azerbaijan's success stories will be implemented in the Central Asian countries too.
Would you like to find out more about iCsquared GmbH? Click here for a recent interview with Ayaz Bayramov and Jamel Nampija about their peanut production in Azerbaijan.
Photo credit: iCsquared GmbH
For more information:
Ayaz Bayramov
iCsquared GmbH
Wasserstein
+41 787 41 6333
[email protected]
www.icsquared.ch/wasserstein.html