Azerbaijani pilot grain enterprise to double productivity

Source: AzerNews

The first pilot private grain growing enterprise, Karabakh Takhil Ltd, has been established in Azerbaijan.

The enterprise was set up in accordance with the decree of President Ilham Aliyev on establishing large private grain growing enterprises in the areas encompassing 3,300 hectares and 1,500 hectares of Azerbaijan's Aghjabedi and Beylagan regions.

The total cost of the investment project amounts to 27.6 million manats. Furthermore, the construction of a granary with capacity of 30,000 tons has been launched and a modern irrigation system which allows doubling the average productivity of the enterprise as well as preventing the erosion and salinization of soil was installed in the territory of the grain growing enterprise.

In fall 2013, the entire 4,800 hectares of the sowing areas of the grain growing sector will be planted with productive wheat.

Advanced technologies, U.S.-made aggregates and combine harvesters have been supplied to the enterprise. Complete implementation of the project will allow creating 400 jobs.

Currently the plant is involved in grain harvesting. Some 55-60 centners of high quality grain are collected per hectare for further delivery to the State Grain Fund.

It is planned to establish such private enterprises in numerous regions of Azerbaijan in the future.

The Azerbaijani government is taking various measures to ensure the dynamic development of agriculture, in particular, grain production in accordance with the state program on reliable supply of the Azerbaijani population with food for 2008-2015 and the state program on the social and economic development of Azerbaijani regions for 2009-2013 as well as presidential decrees.

Thus, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on additional support to supply the producers of agricultural goods with agricultural machinery on July 4.

Further state support of the agricultural sector for reliable provision of Azerbaijan's population with food, increase in food production and reduction of dependence on imports continue to be relevant.

15 million manats will be allocated from the Presidential Reserve Fund to meet the needs of producers of agricultural goods in grain combine harvesters, the decree said.

Grain production remains a priority

Production of grain is in the first place among agricultural plants. This is the oldest area of plant-growing in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has favorable soil and climatic conditions and land cover for the development of this field of agriculture.

Irrigated grain is planted in the lowland regions of Azerbaijan while the highlands and foothills of the country are sown with grain without irrigation.

The main sorts of wheat and barley grown in Azerbaijan are saribugda, gurgeni, qaraqilchiq, xirdabugda, guluser, kere, Karabakh wheat, white wheat, shekilibugda, garagile bugda, topbashbugda, white barley, black barley, shesheri barley, qilici barley, etc.

Generally, Azerbaijan produces autumn grain in the lowland territories, including Kur-Araz, Ganja-Gazakh and the foothill areas of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, due to favorable climatic conditions there. The Sheki, Ismayilli, Shamakhi, Jalilabad, Sabirabad, Balakan and Beylagan regions of Azerbaijan specialize in grain production.

The socio-economic and strategic importance of grain for the Azerbaijani population brings its reliable supply to the forefront. However, only 20 percent of the demand is provided by domestic production.

In 2012, grain production increased by 343,800 tons compared to 2011. According to Minister of Agriculture Ismet Abbasov, the volume of wheat production in Azerbaijan is expected to reach at least 2.8 million tons in 2013.

The demand of the population for grain is met by imports from Russia and Kazakhstan.

However, it was earlier reported that Azerbaijan plans to fully meet its demand for wheat thanks to domestic production. According to the forecasts for 2013, about 700,000 hectares of land will be used for wheat sowing.

The analysis of the works carried out in 2012 shows that several problems in this field should be resolved. In particular, pricing should be controlled, the local market should be protected and the areas designated for grain sowing should be improved. Moreover, in order to ensure sale of the produced goods in time and without loss, it is important to expand the processing and sale markets and the processing facilities.

The agrochemical laboratories of the regions should be developed and improved as well.