Baku, January 12, AZERTAC

“The government provides farmers with support, too. As you know, tax breaks have been applied for many years. The state acquires equipment and purebred cattle. For food security reasons we have carried out institutional reforms, established agricultural estates and improved the process of granting subsidies”, President Ilham Aliyev stated at the governmental meeting dedicated to the results of socio-economic development in 2014 and objectives for 2015.

The President said: “It is also very important to improve productivity. One of the items on our agenda relates to the growth of our export potential because I am sure that in the near future we will provide ourselves with all basic foodstuffs. Thus, we will have new products to export. If we consider the fact that we are already in the process of setting up about 20 large farms, I am sure that we will be able to fully provide ourselves with wheat in the near future”.

The Head of State especially noted: “The productivity of new large farms will be twice the average - 55 quintals per hectare. The country average is 23 quintals. So this new modern approach and, of course, the new opportunities created by public funds will increase our export opportunities in the future, because the government has assumed the main function again. Places have been identified. Farmers have received loans on concessional terms. At the same time, we provide equipment and irrigation. The government has implemented all infrastructure projects in order to improve productivity, so that we could provide ourselves with food to the maximum extent.

Of course, the operation of the Shamkirchay and Takhtakorpu reservoirs is expected to result in the cultivation of new products on tens of thousands of hectares. These places have already been identified, and the process of growing products on these new areas is now starting”.