Grain sowing underway in Azerbaijan’s liberated lands

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has started grain sowing in liberated Jabrayil region's Soltanli village after the territory’s clearance of mines that had been placed during 28 years of Armenian occupation, Trend reported on February 19.

Grain growing, viticulture and cocoon growing used to be the main spheres of activity of the population in Jabrayil before the occupation.

"As the territory of the region is cleared, these spheres will be restored. Jabrayil has always been an agricultural region. Livestock, cocoon-growing, viticulture were widely developed here. Before the occupation, grape production in Jabrayil amounted to 60,000 tons. The region is rich in water resources and its land is fertile," Trend’s Karabakh bureau quoted Jabrayil resident Khidayat Safarli as saying.

It should be noted that during his visit to Fuzuli, Zangilan, Lachin and Jabrayil regions on February 14, President Ilham Aliyev announced that he had given instructions to irrigate 100,000 hectares of land that had not been irrigated so far due to occupation.

"I have ordered to carry out autumn sowing without wasting any time. In a short period of time, we mobilized all our resources, equipment and manpower, and sowing has been carried out on 7,000 hectares. I will also look at those fields. About 20,000-25,000 hectares will be sown this season. So we will revive agriculture without wasting time," he said.

He stated that the agricultural sector of six to seven regions will develop faster, productivity will increase, farmers and villagers will earn more money, adding that both homes and nature will be restored. "Crop production, fruit growing and animal husbandry will develop rapidly in the liberated lands," he added.

Reminding that Armenian invaders planted at least 90,000 hectares of grain on Azerbaijani territories, Aliyev said that this has been stopped.

As part of the tour, Aliyev also visited Soltanli village.

Occupied by Armenian forces in August 1993, Jabrayil’s city centre was liberated from occupation along with the region's 90 villages during the 44-day war from late September to early November in 2020.

On November 10, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered deal that brought an end to 44 days of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.