CITRUS PARADISE

Lemons, tangerines, oranges, kiwis - just recently, these juicy fruits were exotic foods in Azerbaijan and you could treat yourself to them only during holidays.  Not everyone could afford to buy 2-3 kilograms of citruses...  And this was just 15-20 years ago, not in ancient times, when ordinary lemons were called "apples of youth" and were considered exotic.  Who could imagine back then that these fabulous fruits would be grown in our country in large amounts and become part of the everyday Azerbaijani diet?  And that, furthermore, they would be processed and exported?  But dreams do come true - citruses grow very well in the subtropical areas around Lenkaran and have become truly "Azerbaijani" fruits...

Frozen assets...

According to statistics, citruses occupy 1.5 million hectares of the planet's arable land and, with increasing production of these crops, the amount processed also increases. In Azerbaijan, citrus orchards are mainly found in the Astara and Lankaran districts, with some production in the Masalli district of Azerbaijan, mostly in the villages in the foothills, where the climate is favourable for crops.  Citruses are not exactly a novelty in the agrarian sector of the country; there were attempts, and quite successful ones, to organize their production in the past.  Statistics show, however, that just before the country's independence, the crops were clearly not big enough to supply even the minimum needs of the republic.  For example, before 1990, citruses were grown on 734 hectares and productive plantations only on 634 hectares.  In 1990, only 1,399 tons of citruses were produced here.  But their quality was so high that they were immediately sent to Moscow - the crop was just enough to supply USSR Communist Party leaders.  Azerbaijan itself imported fruits from Georgia at best, or from Cuba and Africa, and in quite small amounts at that....

The situation improved only after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.  And even then, it did not improve right away.  During the first years of independence, amid war with Armenia and political and economic crisis, citrus trees in Lenkaran were felled to the last tree.  For this very reason, there was not a single farm in the area which knew how to graft the trees.  The consequences became evident later on, when land reform was conducted, citrus plantations were shared out among the villagers, and farmers began to show an interest in this sector.  The deficit had to be compensated for by the import of citrus tree saplings from Georgia.  But there were problems here:  plants grown in Batumi, where the climate is much milder, can withstand temperatures down to minus 6-8 degrees centigrade, but last year, for example, temperatures in the Azerbaijani subtropics fell to 18 degrees below freezing!  Naturally, frost killed most of the trees on the citrus plantations.  Only about 10% of the trees survived - in the village of Burzuband in the Astara District and in the villages of Tangarud and Supermani.  The damaged trees had to be uprooted to plant new trees.  The newly-planted trees will start yielding crops in 2-3 years' time, and these will also be Georgian varieties of oranges and tangerines, so farmers in Astara and Lankaran again stand to lose, at some point, not only their crops, but also the trees they grow with so many difficulties.  This is why a different stock of tree, which can endure temperatures down to minus 23 degrees, is more suitable for the Lankaran and Astara districts.

In addition, mistakes and omissions by local authorities, made during the years of land reform, hindered the development of citrus plantations to an even greater extent, say specialists from the Agroindustrial Research Centre.  The point is that, by decision of local commissions, every villager was issued with documents stating that they owned plots of land from 200 to 1,000 square metres.  In that situation, it was impossible to plough the land, or to fertilize and irrigate plantations.  Uniting individual owners into a single organization proved very difficult.  Specialists published articles in the press, appeared on TV and radio to discuss these issues.  In their opinion, a market system had to be created to unite land owners into a larger organization, with preservation of the right of ownership of the land along with the right to withdraw from the organization.  At the same time the owners of land had to keep the right to rent out their plots and so on.

Sustainable progress

But still, despite all the accompanying problems, today's statistics are very different from those of 20 years ago.

During the years of independence, a new subtropical culture, the kiwi, was introduced to Azerbaijan.  Today, kiwi orchards can be found in the Astara and Lankaran districts.  The crops here (191 tons in 2008) meet demand in Azerbaijan and are exported to CIS countries.

At present, the feijoa harvest is drawing to an end in the subtropics.  They are frost-hardy, and owners of private orchards farm these subtropical plants successfully.  They are grown on some 900 hectares in Azerbaijan, mostly on private farms.  Teyub Rzayev, director of the Lankaran Regional Agroindustrial Research Centre, says that feijoa is a high-yield crop.  In Lenkaran, 980 kilograms of fruit are harvested per hectare, in Astara - 2,900 kilograms and in Masalli - 1,200 kilograms.

The feijoa fruit is 8-10% sugar, 1.5-3% acid and 0.45% tanning substances.  It also contains high concentrations of iodine.  Feijoa contains up to 46% of vitamin C, it reduces blood pressure and kills germs which cause intestinal disorders.  "We grow Astara, Xazar, Lankaran and other sorts of feijoa in the region," T. Rzayev said.  "These varieties were developed by local researchers.  12 varieties of this wonderful fruit are grown in the southern areas of Azerbaijan."

High demand for citruses, not only in Azerbaijan, but also in neighbouring CIS countries, promotes development in this sector.  On the initiative of the Astara District authorities, a commission was created to look for soils suitable for these crops.  These soils are found in the foothills and the cultivation of new orchards has already started here.  New orange and tangerine plantations are replacing old tea plantations on an area of up to 400 hectares.  Harvests are very good here - 25,000 kilograms of fruit are harvested from one hectare.  In addition, to develop citrus farming in the district, there is a farm which grows saplings of local varieties of lemons, oranges, tangerines and feijoa.

We were told at the Lankaran Regional Agroindustrial Research Centre that, overall, the harvest of citruses in 2009 in Astara and Lenkaran is expected to be similar to that in 2008; it may even exceed it.  In other words, citruses in Azerbaijan are increasingly popular and, therefore, the sector will develop steadily.