MP: Azerbaijan carried out fairest land reform among CIS countries

Azerbaijan carried out the fairest land reform among the CIS countries, and the voluntary consolidation of small land plots could increase agricultural productivity while reducing farmers' costs, Member of Parliament Vugar Bayramov said.

Speaking at a plenary session of the Milli Majlis, Bayramov noted that more than 600,000 farmers are registered in the Ministry of Agriculture's Electronic Agricultural Information System. He added that Azerbaijan's annual agricultural exports amount to approximately $1.5 billion.

According to the lawmaker, introducing modern irrigation systems on small land plots remains a major challenge.

"However, if land plots are voluntarily merged and consolidated, it will become possible to use modern irrigation systems. This will undoubtedly lead directly to higher productivity," he said.

Bayramov also stressed that land consolidation would reduce the cost of using agricultural machinery, lowering overall production costs.

He noted that operating agricultural equipment on small, fragmented plots is significantly more expensive than on larger, consolidated areas.