Regional Development Public Union of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, IDEA, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have launched a joint project on establishing fruit gardens for low-income residents of Azerbaijan.

The project is aimed to improve the welfare of low-income families, helping them to generate income in a sustainable way and, at the same time, contributing to efforts to lower the country’s dependency on the import of agricultural products.

In the first stage of the pilot project, fruit trees were planted on land plots in Ismayilli district of Azerbaijan on 6 April 2017. The planting took place with the participation of IDEA founder and FAO Goodwill Ambassador Leyla Aliyeva, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, head of FAO’s Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan and local youth.

Allocated by the district’s executive authority, a 7-hectare area was planted with a total of 340 fruit tress. The garden was divided between three local families (handicapped war veterans Vusal Ismayilov and Rahim Aliyev, and a martyr’s family member Nuraddin Gasimov).

Similar plantings are also expected to occur in other districts of the country.