BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.24
By Zeyni Jafarov – Trend:
Farmers who will be paid a one-time subsidy for the intensive orchards planted in 2021 for six types of fruit crops (orange, tangerine, lemon, hazelnuts, olives, pomegranates) will receive planting subsidies with a large coefficient (3.5) over the next four years per hectare, the Ministry of Agriculture told Trend.
A one-time subsidy of 11,000 manat ($6,470) per hectare will be paid for lemon orchards this year to partially offset the costs of creating intensive gardens; for orange and tangerine orchards - 9,000 manat ($5,294) per hectare; for pomegranate orchards - 5,000 manat ($2,941) per hectare; for olive orchards – 4,900 manat ($2,882) per hectare; for hazelnut orchards – 4,400 manat ($2,588). In addition, the owners of the gardens will receive a planting subsidy in the amount of 700 manat ($411.7) per hectare. To encourage the planting of new gardens, this subsidy is allocated for the first 4 years of the garden's existence.
For a one-time subsidy, farmers can apply from February 1 to May 31, 2021. To do this, the farmer must register in the Electronic Agriculture Information System (EAIS) with an appropriate document confirming the right to use the land plot.
Also, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, from 2021, it is planned to involve land users in the agrochemical analysis of soil in Azerbaijan, who have at their disposal land with an area of 10 hectares or more. At present, monitoring has begun in accordance with the statements about the autumn planting for this year. Subsidies will be paid after the results of the land analysis are entered into the e-agriculture information system together with the monitoring results.
Thus, the basic analysis package includes: the study of soil pH, salinity (EC), mobile phosphorus (P2O5), assimilated potassium (K2O), and total nitrogen (N). In the regional agrochemical laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture, the cost of one package of basic analysis is 28 manat per sample.
Furthermore, this week, Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov said that as a result of the measures taken, 336,000 tons of cotton were produced in 2020, which is 41,000 tons more than in 2019. The yield increased by 14 percent compared to 2019 and amounted to 33.6 centners per hectare.
This week, the Chairman of the Pomegranate Producers and Exporters Association of Azerbaijan Farhad Garashov said that the liberated Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Aghdam, Zangilan, Gubadly districts of Azerbaijan have favorable conditions for the development of pomegranate growing.
Garashov noted that the Association intends to start work in these areas: "In the future, we want to establish work in the liberated territories. These lands are rich in minerals, provided with water, therefore there are favorable conditions for the development of pomegranate growing. In Soviet times, this branch of agriculture developed on these And now we are aimed at attracting investors and planting pomegranate orchards there. The total area of pomegranate orchards in the country is 22,700 hectares. In the next 5 years, the Association intends to expand the area of pomegranate orchards by another 5,000 hectares."
(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on Jan.23)
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