BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 29
By Nazrin Israfilova - Trend:
The main goals of the Pomegranate Producers and Exporters Association of Azerbaijan (PPEAA) will be to increase and develop trade turnover with Qatar and the Arab countries in general in 2022, Chairman of the Association Farhad Garashov told Trend.
Garashov added that the Association has a grant project from the European Union, which is aimed at training small farmers in Mil-Mugan and Aran zones in seven districts having 1-5 hectares of pomegranate orchards.
The chairman of the Association said that the project includes irrigation, spraying, Euro-technical service, packaging, sales and export.
“We conduct training for small farmers with professional agronomists,” Garashov said. “Moreover, together with the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Association and the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, we have rented and renovated the houses for tourists in five districts for the development of tourism sector.”
Garashov said that there is also a process of encouraging women to grow pomegranates and developing such women’s activity, equipping them with tools.
“One of the main problems in 2022 is water and we hope that there will be no problems with it,” the chairman of the Association said.
“Our goal is to export the products to more countries,” Garashov said. “If the COVID-19 pandemic ends, the fairs will open and we will find buyers to sell our products.”
“Proceeding from the statistics that we received from the beginning of the activity of our Association in 2016, the production of pomegranates is being increased every year,” the chairman of the Association said. “For example, this figure reached 145,000 tons in 2016 while in 2020 – 182,000 tons.”
Garashov said that the new orchards are planted in Azerbaijan every year.
“If there is not abundant harvest, orchards are revived,” the chairman of the Association said. “Today, pomegranate cultivation is being developed in Azerbaijan. We benefit from all the reforms which are supported by our President in agriculture.”
“Some subsidies were increased and this helped more farmers,” Garashov said. “As for Azerbaijani lands liberated from the Armenian occupation, we are currently waiting for the demining operations.”
“We are ready to work with farmers to grow pomegranates on the liberated lands,” the chairman of the Association said. “We have enough resources and water in these lands, the soil is fertile and the weather conditions are favorable for cultivation.”
The Azerbaijan Pomegranate Producers and Exporters Association was registered in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice on October 31, 2016.
The Association regularly supplies pomegranates to the local and international markets, strives for broad using the advanced technologies in production, the supply of high-quality raw materials and improving the existing experience.