Crop planning in Azerbaijan to be carried out in accordance with water balance of regions

One of the main tasks facing the Azerbaijan State Agency for Water Resources (ADSEA) is to create a cropping pattern consistent with available water resources, ADSEA Chairman Zaur Mikayilov said at a meeting on agricultural issues chaired by President Ilham Aliyev, Report informs.

According to him, given that climate change is causing water and precipitation volumes to fluctuate dynamically from year to year, it is essential to accurately calculate the annual water balance of each region. These water resources should determine which crops will be sown and which areas will be promoted based on these water resources.

"Within the Ministry of Agriculture's action plan for 2026-2030, for example, the goals of increasing the average wheat and cotton yield to 50 centners are driven by the transition to modern intensive irrigation methods. Also, in the Action Plan, all goals related to increasing the area of ​​intensive orchards from 50,000 hectares to 70,000 hectares, greenhouse area from 1,500 hectares to 2,000 hectares, as well as increasing yields by 17% and increasing total production to 425,000 tons, while cotton acreage is declining from 100,000 hectares to 85,000 hectares, are considered commendable," he said.

Mikayilov, citing the Action Plan, noted that the consolidation of 20,000 hectares of land in the Gabala and Salyan districts and the installation of on-farm irrigation networks in these areas, as well as the increase in the coverage of modern irrigation equipment in the republic from 130,000 hectares to 300,000 hectares, can be assessed as a progressive step in terms of ensuring the sustainable use of water resources.