A STALL TO MEET EUROPEAN STANDARDS

Certain political vicissitudes in relations between the neighbouring countries, which create the increased demand for agricultural products, should become an incentive to accelerate reforms in the agricultural sector of Azerbaijan and contribute to the growth of production in the industry. Notwithstanding the above considerations, a number of innovations aimed at the development of the agricultural sector have been launched in Azerbaijan's farming industry during this year. Thus, following the creation of large enterprises for the production of plant products, similar projects have been initiated in animal husbandry.

The first pilot projects to organize modern peasant family farm enterprises specializing in meat and dairy products have begun to be implemented in Agcabadi, Barda and Imisli Districts on the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to the project, 516 heads of pedigree cattle will be leased out to such enterprises, or between five and ten heads per enterprise. This is because livestock currently being kept by farmers in rural regions of the country is of local breed, which is known to be unproductive. And the main goal of creating modern peasant family farm enterprises consists precisely in replacing this livestock with highly productive cows, creating all the necessary conditions for livestock keeping on farm grounds, efficiently using land owned by villagers, and encouraging the construction of modern structures for livestock farms. As part of the project, modern farmsteads were built for livestock keeping at farm enterprises, and a food base was formed. To ensure a steady growth in meat and dairy products, appropriate animal feed was chosen, and measures were taken to prepare silage from corn using modern methods and technologies. Farmers are provided with portable milking machines and apparatus for crushing and mixing the feed. Furthermore, milk collection centres are being set up, where milk is cooled and sent to processing factories for sale. A special laboratory will operate here for checking milk quality.

Yusif Mammadov, the head of one of the farm enterprises, said that milk yields from the cows brought to the farm from Austria were four times higher than those from local breeds. He also said that milking of cows would be carried out by means of milking machines in the new farm, and the purchase price of milk of this quality would be noticeably higher than usual. "I kept five or six cows on my former farm," Mammadov said, "and the cows collectively produced not more than 20 litres of milk per day. However, there will be 15 cows on the new farm and each of them will produce 20 litres a day. Of course, I think the new project is very advantageous and effective".

According to him, a sufficient amount of forage has been purchased to provide animals with high-quality feed, but in the future, farmers themselves will have to grow forage crops. Yusif Mammadov noted that peasants were given preferential loans to set up their farm enterprises. "About 6,000 manats were spent to build a cowshed, 4,000 manats were earmarked for buying feed, and 3,000 manats was given out for future planting of forage crops. The remaining money in an amount of 1,400 manats will be spent on payment for the cost of pedigree cattle. We will also buy milking machines and feed mills. In total, the cost of setting up a farm enterprise amounts to some 29,000-31,000 manats," the farmer said.

"At present, a pilot project is being implemented in three districts of the country - Agcabadi, Barda and Imisli, which involves 516 heads of cattle handled by 69 family farmers. They will gain experience and, later on, others will learn from them," says Qalib Abdullayev, head of the livestock department at Azerbaijan's Ministry of Agriculture.

There are certain criteria to be followed in setting up such farms. First of all, each family should own a land share for building farmsteads and land for growing fodder; it is also necessary to build a milk collection centre with a laboratory. Farmers are provided with assistance and preferential loans. They are to be allocated as follows: one part is assigned to carrying out sowing, a second part - to forage conservation, and a third part - to building a cowshed, providing the necessary equipment and cattle purchasing.

According to Q. Abdullayev, the loan value provided for setting up a farm with 10 heads of cattle amounted to 25,000 manats this year. Such loans are provided for a term of three years; preferential loans need to be repaid in 18 months.

It should be noted that in addition to this project, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to build a national cattle-breeding centre in Azerbaijan. According to Azerbaijani Deputy Agriculture Minister Seyfaddin Talibov, this will help develop a genetically sustainable livestock production in the home country.

On the basis of calculations performed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture, with such practical and logistical support, family farm enterprises will be able to achieve their goals and earn a real profit from the pilot project being implemented. Therefore, milk production and gain in weight per head will increase in Azerbaijan, thus ensuring its food security.