Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov met with cotton producing farmers in the open field in Salyan

Cotton growing has become one of the most profitable directions of agriculture, increasing the interest of farmers in this field every year. As a result of the expansion of state support mechanisms, farmers in areas with strong cotton growing traditions prefer to cultivate this crop.

The volume of cotton fields has increased this year in the Salyan region, which had the highest productivity last year. In 2020, 5,000 hectares of cotton were planted in Salyan, and at the end of the season, farmers delivered more than 20,000 tons of cotton to supply points. This year, cotton has been planted on 6,124 hectares in the region. Field monitoring shows that Salyan region will be in the first place in terms of average productivity this year as well.

Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov met with cotton producing farmers in Salyan, inspected the fields and inquired about the condition of crops. The sides exchanged views on the implementation of agro-technical maintenance measures in accordance with the schedule, irrigation, supply of farmers with fertilizers, medicines and equipment, plant protection measures, further strengthening of state support for cotton growing. It was noted that cotton growing plays an important role in increasing farmers' incomes, as well as has a significant impact on increasing employment among the rural population.

This year, cotton has been planted on about 100,000 hectares in 17 regions of Azerbaijan. There is an extensive state support for cotton growing in the country. Cotton producing farmers receive both planting and crop subsidies. Farmers are paid 260 manat per hectare of cotton (220 planting subsidies + 40 manat, the amount of subsidies increased after the rise in price of diesel), 100 manat subsidy per ton of delivered cotton. The grown product is bought from the farmer for 550-650 manats per ton, depending on the quality. Farmers seeking subsidies have declared their crops in the Electronic Agricultural Information System, as have other spring crops.

Farmers noted that this year the sowing of cotton seed was performed well in all areas, and now the treatment is carried out in accordance with the technological map. During the meeting, the proposals voiced by farmers were recorded, and instructions were given to implement the appeals.