Azerbaijan Sees Notable Expansion In Agricultural Sector Over Past Decade

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Over the past ten years, the agricultural sector has seen growth of more than 37%, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Zaur Aliyev said at a press conference, Trend reports.

He added that important work is simultaneously underway to develop the infrastructure supporting the sector's growth: this includes the construction of grain elevators, the expansion of the logistics network, and the acceleration of digitalization processes.

According to him, one of the program's main goals is to increase employment in agriculture and raise farmers' incomes:

“There are a number of factors that necessitate the development of the State Program. Global challenges in the agro-industrial sector, growing public demand for food, risks associated with climate change, and instability in global markets pose serious threats to food security. These reasons necessitate the development of the State Program.

The new State Program is being developed based on a comprehensive approach that covers both production and all stages of the value chain, he added.”

The new state program takes a comprehensive approach to ensuring the sustainable and balanced development of the agricultural sector. Its main objectives include strengthening food security, increasing productivity, developing production within a competitive value chain, and fully restoring agricultural activities in the liberated territories.

Plans include strengthening the legal and institutional framework to support the program's implementation, as well as digitizing processes.

In line with the program's main objectives, the average annual growth rate of gross domestic product generated by agriculture, forestry, and fisheries is projected to be at least 2% during the period from 2026 through 2030. At the same time, exports of agricultural and processed fish products are projected to increase by an average of 6% per year.

By 2030, the plan is to increase the average wheat yield per hectare in specialized regions to 50 centners. As a result, production is expected to increase by approximately 20%, and self-sufficiency levels are expected to rise.

Moreover, it is planned to expand the area of land using modern irrigation systems to 300,000 hectares. At the same time, the goal is to increase the area of intensive and super-intensive orchards by 20,000 hectares.

In cotton production, the plan is to increase the average yield per hectare in specialized regions to 50 centners by 2030, as well as to quadruple the volume of processed cotton.

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