Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 13 / Trend U. Ismayilova /
Agriculture is one of priority spheres of non-oil sector of Azerbaijan's economy as today 46 percent of population live in villages, the parliamentary commission on agrarian policy head Eldar Ibrahimov said in an interview with official newspaper.
"At present, about 38.3 percent of able-bodied part of population is involved in agriculture. About 55 percent, total territory of the country, or 4,757 hectares, are areas suitable for agriculture," Ibrahimov said.
About 111,550 million manat will be allocated from Azerbaijan's state budget-2010 to give subsidies to farmers. About 32,462 million manat but 50.62 million manat together with foreign loans will be invested to implement projects in this sphere. It is 119 percent or 24.431 million manat more than in 2009.
Ibrahimov said about 150.555 million manat, including 136.755 million manat from the state budget, will be invested to implement irrigation and water projects in 2010. It will create an opportunity to construct some new irrigation systems compared to last years.
Speaking about problems with development of agriculture, Ibrahimov said that many producers of agriculture face some problems while selling goods. Many producers fail to sell products in time. It leads to big damage for farmers. From other side, a small number of enterprises processing agricultural products oblige producers to sell products at a lower price.
"Domestic agricultural production is expected to be reduced due to some problems in 2010. It will increase import," Ibrahimov said.
Ibrahimov said many farmers propose to get state orders for production of main products to overcome difficulties. Some of them are ready to refuse from getting subsidies from state budget.
The parliamentary committee head said another solution of the problem with sale of agricultural products can be a wholesale base. It is used in many world countries.
Ibrahimov said establishment of cooperation relations in agriculture can develop it.