Azerbaijan targets 33 AI farm solutions for 2026, 18 fruit diseases and pests tracked

Azerbaijan aims to bring 33 artificial-intelligence and digital solutions into operation for agriculture during 2026, Deputy Agriculture Minister Ilhama Gadimova said at a press conference on 15 October 2026, according to Trend.az. At the same briefing, she said a forecasting system already covers 18 diseases and pests across eight types of fruit, Report.az reported.

The 2026 rollout

• The 33 solutions sit under 12 programmes across three areas, Gadimova said, according to Trend.az: seven programmes with 25 solutions target productivity, three programmes with five solutions aim to improve subsidy efficiency, and two programmes with three solutions cover livestock development.
• The "Agricultural Artificial Intelligence" project, run by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Agriculture (Kənd Təsərrüfatı Nazirliyi), was launched in 2024 to introduce modern technology and improve the sector's competitiveness, Gadimova said, according to Trend.az.
• She linked the 2026 push to "the measure to establish an artificial intelligence system envisaged in the State Program for 2026-2030," Trend.az reported.
• "The main goal is to bring all 33 solutions into operation this year," Gadimova said, according to Trend.az.

Pest detection already running

• The system "currently covers 18 diseases and pests affecting eight types of fruit," Gadimova said, according to Report.az.
• Using hourly data from agrometeorological stations, it tracks pest-development stages and flags treatment windows based on wind, precipitation and temperature, Report.az reported.
• The aim is to let farmers time crop-protection work and use resources more efficiently, according to Report.az.

Why it matters

The two briefings, reported the same day by Trend.az and Report.az, show a two-year-old pilot moving from a handful of tools into a numbered, time-bound rollout tied to a named state programme — a shift from announcement to a measurable 2026 deadline that outside observers can check against.

What it means for Azerbaijani institutions

Gadimova tied the rollout directly to the State Program for 2026-2030, according to Trend.az, placing the ministry's AI push inside a multi-year government planning cycle rather than a standalone pilot. For agribusinesses, cooperatives and agrotech suppliers dealing with the ministry, the practical fact on record is that the pest-forecasting tool is already running on eight fruit types, with 33 further AI and digital solutions due within the same calendar year under a fixed, publicly stated target — a near-term planning horizon worth tracking rather than a speculative one.