Republican Meeting was held on the theme of “Upcoming tasks of cotton growing 2020” in Saatli

On January 25, the Republican Meeting was held on "Cotton 2020: upcoming tasks" chaired by Inam Karimov, Minister of Agriculture in Saatli.

Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture’ apparatus, head staff of “Azerbaijan Melioration and Water Management” OJSC, officials of district executive power structures, heads of the subordinate bodies of Ministry of Agriculture, State Agricultural Development Centers, members of the Association of Cotton Manufacturers of Azerbaijan, 250 farmers who is engaged in cotton growing, as well as representatives of cotton processing enterprises were participated.

Opening the event, head of Saatli District Executive Power, Nazim Ismayilov said that according to the instruction of Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, events are implemented to promote development of cotton growing in Azerbaijan. The head of the executive branch noted that Saatli has a great potential and tradition in the field of agriculture, including cotton growing, and spoke about the current situation in the agricultural sector.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov said that the development of the agricultural sector was declared as a priority by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. “The Minister said that as a result of consecutive measures, the agricultural sector entered a new phase and pace of development in this field is being continued. As a result of government support, the agricultural sector has seen a steady growth rate over the last few years. It is no coincidence that last year alone, the total volume of agricultural production increased by 7.2% compared to the previous year, including crop production by 11.7% and animal husbandry production by 3.5%”.

Inam Karimov added that cotton growing is one of the most important field of the agricultural sector. Noting the rich history of cotton production in Azerbaijan, the Minister of Agriculture said that the State Program, Decisions, Commitments and Recommendations adopted by Mr. President Ilham Aliyev, created favorable conditions for the rapid development of this sector in our country: “can be considered a year of rapid development in the cotton industry. Last year, cotton plantations declined by 32.5 thousand hectares, but productivity was 61,000 tons more than 2018. Last year, the average crop yield per hectare was 29.5 centners, which is 11.9 centners compared with 2018. The country's leadership has been tasked with achieving increased productivity through the use of best practices and advanced technologies. ”

In his speech, the Minister touched upon complex events implemented to develop cotton production in Azerbaijan, spoke about the application of subsidy policies for cotton production, and said that large-scale measures implemented to provide farmers with fertilizers, machines and machinery.

I. Karimov said that the head of state had set a number of important tasks at the meeting on December 19, 2019, following the results of the cotton growing season under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

The Minister informed the farmers about the development of cotton production, the goals and prospects, as well as implementation work in the development of agriculture and the forthcoming tasks.

The prospects of cotton growing were discussed and stressed the importance of the experience of advanced farmers and countries, as well as the use of intensive technologies in the meeting.

The meeting with farmers in an active dialogue format lasted about three hours. The participants of the meeting shared their views on the implementation of the tasks set out in the "State Program on Development of Cotton Production in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2017-2022". During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the lack of irrigation water, mineral fertilizers, herbicides, medicines and technical support, and agribusiness lending. The farmers' questions were answered by the heads of relevant departments of the Ministry, the proposals were registered, and the heads of the relevant structures and departments were given instructions to address the issues raised.

At the end of the talks, it was said that meetings in this format would continue and farmers would be informed about the implementation work to address the issues raised.