“The expansion of modern irrigation, increasing the efficiency of water use, and raising productivity have been identified as key targets in the State Program.”
elchi reports that Deputy Minister of Agriculture Seymur Safarli stated this at a regional meeting in Guba regarding the discussion of the “State Program for the Development of Production and Processing of Agricultural, Fishery, and Aquaculture Products in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2026–2030.”
The Deputy Minister noted that the application of pivot, drip, micro-sprinkler, and sprinkler irrigation systems will be expanded in this direction: “Currently, the area equipped with modern irrigation systems is 130 thousand hectares. It is projected to reach 300 thousand hectares by 2030. Of this, 88.1 thousand hectares are planned to be implemented in 22 target districts, and 12 thousand hectares in 8 prospective districts.”
Key support measures related to modern irrigation have also been specifically defined. Modern irrigation systems will be sold to farmers at discounted prices. Financing of the residual value through concessional loan terms is envisaged. Appropriate mechanisms will be formed to reduce the farmer’s initial payment burden, increase the grace period, and finance the remaining part through concessional loans.
Seymur Safarli also stated that one of the important directions is the improvement of technical supply: “Providing modern machinery is one of the main conditions for increasing productivity. Timely plowing, timely sowing, timely agrotechnical maintenance, and timely harvesting depend on the availability and proper management of machinery. The State Program envisages updating the combine harvester fleet with 571 new units across 22 target districts. This is an important step in terms of reducing crop losses in grain farming and completing the harvest within the optimal timeframe.
The State Program provides for the creation of a subsidy mechanism for the application of laser leveling technology. In total, the application of laser leveling is planned on an area of 84.9 thousand hectares in 22 districts.”