Orchards for 250 families to be created within Social Gardens project

By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

The Social Gardens project, implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, provides additional support for the development of agriculture, one of the main spheres of the non-oil sector.

The project, which aims to stimulate the access of low-income families to small business in horticulture, is carried out together with the Regional Development Public Association of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The laying of intensive orchards for 250 families within the next stage of the Social Gardens project has started.

Families belonging to sensitive groups (martyr families, citizens with disabilities, members of low-income families) were selected based on the appeals received. During the monitoring of lands belonging to these families, the needs were identified.

At the first stage, these sites will be cleaned of old trees, shrubs, stumps and stones, and other preparatory work will be carried out. Once the sites are ready, seedlings of fruit trees will be planted considering the climate and the region’s characteristics.

The project, which is aimed at supporting the self-employment program, covers 34 regions of Azerbaijan favorable for horticulture.

Last year, intensive orchards were created for 125 families within the framework of the Social Gardens project. Agro-technical services for farms were created, their owners were provided with relevant consulting services. The project also provides assistance to farms in the organization of logistics and sale of finished products.

The self-employment program has been implementing in Azerbaijan since 2016. As part of these measures, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population provides low-income families with various assets (goods, materials, livestock) so that they can start their small business.

Self-employment programs are primarily focused on the unemployed, people with disabilities and young people who are looking for an opportunity to apply their forces in business.

Self-employment allows unemployed citizens to exercise their right to socially useful activity. At the same time, the society receives initiative workers, who abandoned the passive-dependent expectation and began active creative work, realized themselves as individuals.

Horticulture is one of the priorities of the agrarian sector. Climate conditions in Azerbaijan create favorable conditions for greater productivity. Guba-Khachmaz economic region specializes on seedy fruits, Zagatala-Shaki on nuts, Nakhchivan on stone fruits, Kur-Araz on dry subtropical fruits, Lankaran on citrus fruits, and Absheron peninsula on the southern crops.

General agricultural production in Azerbaijan amounted to 7 billion manats ($4.11 billion) in 2018, which is 4.6 percent higher than in 2017. Last year, the volume of production in livestock amounted to 3.8 billion manats ($2.2 billion), and in crop production to 3.2 billion manats ($1.9 billion). As much as 1.11 million tons of fruits and berries were harvested In Azerbaijan in 2018, which is an increase of 5.9 percent compared to 2017.