News

In line with the Presidential Decree No. 287 dated 16 January 2025 approving the “Digital Development Concept of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport has conducted a digitalization assessment within the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). The goal of the assessment was to develop key performance indicators for monitoring and evaluating digital transformation processes in government institutions, establish a digitalization diagnostic framework, and design accelerated digitalization scenarios. The results of the diagnostic were presented during a meeting attended by Samir Mammadov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport, and Ilhama Gadimova, Deputy Minister of Agriculture.

The diagnostic covered four key areas: strategy, services, technical-technological infrastructure, and operational models.

According to the findings, strategic documents covering digitalization initiatives in the MoA have been developed and formalized into a unified strategic framework. The assessment also indicates that general awareness and culture around digital transformation have been successfully cultivated within the ministry.

The evaluation shows that the ministry has ensured the digitalization of its priority services, while work continues on the remaining services. Approximately 90% of the digital services provided by the Ministry of Agriculture have been integrated into the Electronic Government Information System, and around 70–80% of services are made available to citizens via the “Yonca” mobile application.

In the technical-technological domain, the assessment revealed that the Electronic Agriculture Information System (EKTIS) serves as the ministry’s core information system. Work has begun on integrating other information systems into EKTIS as subsystems within a unified architecture. Within EKTIS and AI pilot projects, a data-driven decision-making process has been established. An action plan on artificial intelligence and analytical capabilities has been developed, while several applications — including the Plant Species Map, Soil Map, Plant Health Monitoring, and Crop Yield Forecasting — are currently in the pilot phase. The ministry also provides open data to the public through the “Agro Data” and national Open Data portals. In addition, preparations and planning are underway for the full migration of information assets and systems to the Government Cloud.

In the operational domain, the assessment highlighted that MoA employees are provided with instructional documents to enhance their knowledge and skills in digitalization. Necessary legal procedures are also ensured prior to the development of digital services and information systems.

During the meeting, a three-year Digitalization Roadmap (2025–2027) was approved. The Roadmap aims to strengthen digital resilience in the agricultural sector, expand artificial intelligence initiatives, enhance existing digital services, improve farmers’ access to digital tools, build a professional digital transformation team, and develop modern technology-based information systems.