SELF-SUFFICIENCY

In the next few years Azerbaijan could come very close to solving the problem of self-sufficiency in food. It is precisely to this end that a range of measures is being carried out to create large private farms in a number of districts in the country based on President Ilham Aliyev's instruction. About 5,000 hectares of land have already been allotted and large private grain-growing farms have been being built in Agcabadi and Beylaqan Districts. In all at least 50 large private grain-growing farms are due to be built so that the country can fully provide itself with grain.

Pilot project

The first pilot grain-growing farm with an overall area of about 4,800 ha of the Ministry for Economic Development was created last year in Aghjabadi and Beylaqan Districts. In connection with this, the use of the land was changed, and through state investment electricity and - following the extension of the Upper Mil Canal by 10.7km - water was put on and various land-reclamation measures adopted.

According to Leyla Askarova, the deputy chief executive for agricultural questions of Aghjabadi District, already this year farmers in this new structure are planning to grow and provide over 9,000 tonnes of top-quality grain. An administrative building, a grain storage facility and other agricultural services buildings for the maintenance and repair of all types of vital machinery and equipment are being built at the farm. The Qarabag Taxil company is carrying out the project and, according to its boss Racab Orucev, in accordance with an investment project, construction has already begun of a grain depot, a stockbreeding complex for 1,000 head of cattle, a plant for the production of vegetable oil, an administrative building, workshops and sheds for storing agricultural machinery and equipment. "There will be jobs for 350-400 forced migrants and local people. It is planned to double the average yield in the republic and bring it up to 50 quintals per hectare," Orucev said.

According to him, thanks to the application of state-of-the-art technology his farm plans to produce 25,000 tonnes of wheat annually. The whole farming system is based mainly on European and American technology. Sprinklers will be installed and a technology park is being built, providing private agricultural services and consisting of equipment that complies with world standards, for which AZN 4 million has been allotted.

The main task for 2013 is to turn all land sectors into agricultural use and improve their fertility. In the spring of this year all land at the pilot farm will be sown to agricultural crops, mainly maize, sunflower and other spring crops.

It has to be said that the area which is now the site of a farm used to be pasture where the local villagers grazed their cattle. However, the new life in Agcabadi and Beylaqan changed things dramatically. Every villager now has a job and a steady income and so people there very quickly became convinced that creating new private farms was a beneficial and long-term move.

This year similar farms are already starting to be built in Calilabad and Haciqabul Districts. Over 200,000 ha of land were allotted from the state fund at the initial stage, on which land-reclamation work is planned to be carried out to make it more suitable for growing grain crops.

The next stage

However, grain-growing is not the only area of focus in setting up these new large farms. For example, in President Ilham Aliyev's opinion, specialization between the districts should be carried out. "I believe that in the near future I should be presented with specific proposals for each district. In which district which agricultural produce we should produce more of and which extra measures should be adopted for this," the head of state said, speaking at a meeting on the results of the fourth year of the implementation of the Second State Programme for the Development of the Regions.

In Azerbaijan, where the agrarian sector has historically been one of the more popular spheres of activity among the population, there are very great opportunities for the development of stockbreeding, dairy farming, horticulture, viticulture, and so on. And the new farms will help to achieve the desired results, at the same time contributing to a growth in yield. For example, in the new private farms grain yield is due to reach 40-50 quintals, whereas at the moment the average from each hectare is 27 quintals.

At the same time, the new farms can also count on help from the state - agriculture is a priority of preferential credit through the National Fund of Aid to Enterprise - and of the AZN 1.2bn of preferential credit provided last year, 83% went to the agricultural sector of the regions. Furthermore, support is being provided through "Agrolizing" in acquiring machinery and equipment and farmers can enjoy tax and other benefits. And it would seem to be that against this background there should be a substantial leap forward in this sphere. However, there are still problems, and significant ones, too. And, by all accounts, the main reason for this is the lack of a proper level of transparency in this sphere. "In some cases part of the subsidies earmarked for the farmers finds its way into the pockets of the state bureaucrats. In some cases the volume of production and the size of the land plots are overstated in order to obtain more subsidies. And in others vital equipment and other means are being imported from abroad at high prices. In other words, we must ensure full transparency in this field, President Ilham Aliyev said in this regard.

Besides this, in order to step up the development of the agricultural sector we must expand export potential and access to new agricultural production markets and organize a new production purchasing system. And in this question the state must give support and point the way and the implementation of projects must be entrusted directly to private companies. That is why, at the next stage of agricultural reform, priority must be given to creating logistical and procurement centres both in Azerbaijan and in countries to which produce will be exported. In the head of state's opinion, "this year serious talks must be held on this question with the relevant countries and their state structures to organize this work. Because there are problems linked with the marketing of produce and these problems must be resolved".

Also, by way of state support, this year it is planned to start solving questions of adopting information and communications technology in the agricultural sphere. These include a project to create an electronic system of registering farmers which will have several purposes - to increase the effectiveness of subsidies, to re-define the borders of shared land plots, and so on. At the same time, implementation has already begun of a grand project in this sphere costing millions of manats, providing for the laying of Broadband Internet lines to all towns in the country. Bearing in mind its significance, this project is being directly funded by the State Oil Fund under the control of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Thus, with the solving of tasks set for the current year and the two after that, agricultural reform will become even more developed. The main directions in grain-growing will be determined and the major agricultural enterprises capable of solving the main food question - providing the population with bread grain and other food products in full measure - have been chosen.