FODDER SHORTAGE

Animal husbandry has rightly been called the most dynamically developing branch of agriculture in Azerbaijan, and this is backed up by statistics. Last year local stockbreeders provided the country with 87 per cent of beef, 97 per cent of mutton, 98 per cent of poultry, 100 per cent of eggs and 76 per cent of milk and dairy products. If the volume of agricultural production last year was 5.2bn manats, 2.8bn manats of this figure was down to livestock products, and the proportion of this branch in agricultural production was 53.1 per cent.  At the same time, there are still a number of problems preventing stockbreeders from exporting their produce. 

The reforms in Azerbaijan's stockbreeding complexes began back in 2004 and they have achieved the best result in this segment of the agricultural sector in the past ten years. According to the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee, 2,706,900 head of cattle (a growth of 0.1 per cent) and 8,681,500 head of sheep and goats were kept at the leading stockbreeding complexes and farms. Live-weight meat production was 505,500 tonnes, which was 1.7 per cent above last year's level; milk production 1.9m tonnes (an increase of 3.3 per cent) and eggs 1.6bn (an increase of 11.5 per cent).

The Ministry of Agriculture has already electronically registered about 4,810 farming enterprises engaged in animal husbandry and other state veterinary inspection facilities.

In recent years the thrust in animal husbandry has been towards the import and breeding of pedigree cattle with a high genetic potential. Last year 20,000 head of these cattle were imported and marketed, and this year, according to Agricultural Minister Heydar Asadov, another 10,000 head are due to be imported. "We have been doing this for about 11 years now," says Kamil Samilov, an expert in pedigree stockbreeding of the OJSC Aqrolizinq. "We receive pedigree heifers and bullocks from Europe which have certificates. They include all the necessary data about these animals, including their meat and milk productivity."

According to monitoring carried out by the republic's Agricultural Ministry, farms are having no problems in providing uninterrupted production and wintering is proceeding as normal. In the country as a whole, about 30 quintals of fodder per basic cattle unit were provided in the country for wintering, which is quite sufficient for problem-free wintering. And this is despite the severe drought which affected Saki, Tovuz, Samaxi and Qobustan Districts.

Experts believe that one factor contributing to the increase in milk production in the region is the attainment of projected capacity of new complexes, as well as the qualitative growth of high-producing European-selection cattle, which is testimony to the profound changes in the industry. Tens of thousands of calves have been received for the winter period, which is much more than for this time last year. At the same time, a feature of this winter has been the fact that private farms focusing on dairy and meat production have begun to slaughter livestock because of a surplus of head. This means that surpluses have formed in the meat market, leading to a substantial reduction in meat prices. "At markets in Barda District the price of beef fell to 5 manats a kilo. Up to 200 kilos are sold in the shops every day. In Baku's markets beef has become cheaper by just one manat. The price for small cattle meat has remained unchanged and ranges from 9-10 manats a kilo," Vaqif Ramazanov, a stockbreeding expert, said. At the same time, he complained about farmers' ignorance of the regulations of livestock management, which is leading to a deterioration in the animals' health and losses for the stockbreeders. 

Errors and neglect in the feeding and watering of pedigree cattle, as well as the poor quality of fodder, are leading to various diseases and a protein deficit destroys their organism. "These highly productive animals imported from Europe have a high demand for protein, at least 100-150 grammes a day. The fodder we have - barley and alfalfa - cannot provide protein for the animals. Soya beans and pulses contain a lot of protein. And animals whose rations include these plants immediately begin to digest them. Pedigree animals, which consume local grasses, only begin to digest food in the evening and cannot get protein, so they become weaker, lose weight and die. The result is that stockbreeding farms bear huge losses," the expert pointed out.

Rural entrepreneurs find it is very expensive to purchase and import nutritious fodder for pedigree cattle. Local stockbreeders meet the animals' requirements for protein with the help of carbamide, an artificial protein. When the animals received the required amount of protein they gave birth normally, did not lose weight and survived. The expert believes that the country needs to increase the production volumes of nutritious fodder from soy beans and pulses, and the quicker this happens the higher the production level of meat and dairy products will be and the health of pedigree animals will improve.  

To be fair, we should point out that the state is trying to provide the maximum possible help to stockbreeders, including the issuing of concessional loans and preferences in tax and other spheres. For example, the total volume of concessional loans issued through the National Entrepreneurship Support Fund for the development of stockbreeding in Azerbaijan in recent years has been 128m manats. Bearing in mind that 2015 has been declared the Year of Agriculture in Azerbaijan, one can hope that these problems of the stockbreeders will be resolved as soon as possible.