Republican meeting toward cotton in Beylagan

On August 23, in Beylagan, under the chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov, a republican meeting was held on the subject of “Cotton Harvesting and Upcoming Tasks”.

At the meeting held at the Heydar Aliyev Center, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, management of Land Reclamation and Water Management OJSC, representatives of the district’s executive authority, heads of the State Agricultural Development Centers of 20 regions where cotton was planted. Farmer, as well as representatives of cotton processing enterprises. Opening the event, the head of the executive branch of the Beylagan region, Asif Agayev, said that in accordance with the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, comprehensive events were implemented to develop cotton production in Azerbaijan. The head of the executive branch noted that Beylagan has great potential and traditions in the field of agricultural production, including cotton growing. Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov said that the development of the agricultural sector was announced by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev as a priority. The Minister said that as a result of the implementation events, the pace of development of the agricultural sector continues: “The reforms carried out by Mr. President in the agricultural sector provide for the further development of agriculture. Our state provides great support to the development of the agricultural sector, including cotton. Subsidies will be provided for the development of this sector, and favorable conditions will be created in the field of engineering and domestic water supply. As a result of state support, steady growth has been observed in the agricultural sector over the past few years. As a result of the implementation events during the first six months of this year, total agricultural production increased by 13%. Growth in the crop sector amounted to 25.6%, and in the livestock sector - 2.9%. ” Noting that the cotton industry in Azerbaijan has a rich history and great potential, the Minister said that the decisions, instructions and recommendations adopted by President Ilham Aliyev regarding the development of cotton production in the short term created favorable conditions for the rapid development of this sector in our country.

In his speech, the Minister touched upon the comprehensive events implemented to develop cotton production in Azerbaijan, spoke about the application of the policy of subsidizing cotton production and noted that large-scale measures have been taken to provide farmers with fertilizers, machinery and equipment. The Minister informed the farmers about the preparations for the cotton harvest this year and the forthcoming tasks, the development of cotton production, goals and prospects, as well as implemented work in the field of agricultural development, and the forthcoming tasks. At the meeting, Rafail Guliyev, head of the organization and monitoring of plants at the Ministry of Agriculture, “Organization of cotton picking”, chairman of the board of Agroleasing OJSC, Elmin Rakhmanov, “Organization of cotton supplies”, the current situation ”, Rovshan Hasanov, director of IK MKT LLC, Bahruz Jamalov, Director of Azerpambig ASK LLC, Azer Alizade, Director of P-Agro LLC and Vahid Huseynov, Director of Az-Agro LLC Work on the development of cotton production, preparation for harvesting. “ The meeting discussed the prospects for cotton production and emphasized the importance of using intensive technologies. The meeting with farmers in an active dialogue format lasted about three hours.

The meeting participants shared their views on the implementation of the tasks set in the “State Program for the Development of Cotton Production in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2017–2022”. The parties exchanged views on the lack of irrigation water, the provision of mineral fertilizers, herbicides, medicines and equipment, as well as on lending to the agricultural sector. The farmers’ questions were answered by the heads of the relevant departments of the Ministry, the proposals were registered, and the heads of the relevant structures and departments were instructed to resolve the issues raised. At the end of the discussion, it was stated that meetings in this format would continue and farmers would be informed of the implementation work to address these issues. During the event, the meeting participants familiarized themselves with the cotton planting field based on Turkish technology in Beylagan.