Agro-Industrial Complex (AIC) in Azerbaijan

Agro-Industrial Complex is the union of agricultural and industrial enterprises that are connected with one another. Its main function is to supply the population with food and food products, animal husbandry with feeding stuff, and the industry with raw material. Agriculture has a leading role in the AIC.

There are favorable soil-climate conditions for the development of agriculture in Azerbaijan. There are 0.2 hectares of land per capital in the country.

In Azerbaijan agriculture, plant-growing developed more than animal husbandry. 61% of agricultural products belong to plant growing, and 39% goes to animal husbandry. Plant-growing developed more than animal husbandry due to the large cultivable lands and high total active temperature in Azerbaijan plains.

The agriculture in Azerbaijan has two broad fields-plant growing and animal husbandry.

Plant growing. Favorable climatic conditions, land cover allow for planting various types of plants in Azerbaijan. Especially cotton-growing, vegetable-growing, tobacco-growing, and vine-growing are the most specialized field of Azerbaijan culture and meet the domestic demand of Azerbaijan.

Khachmaz, Lenkeran, and partly Aran and Absheron regions are specialized on vegetable-growing. Khachmaz is specialized on the slow-growing, Lenkeran on fast-growing vegetables. A great amount of vegetables are grown in the hothouses near Gandja city. In recent years, the fields of cabbage are enlarged in Agdash.

Melon-growing is highly developed in Aran, Absheron, and Lenkeran region of Azerbaijan. Kurdemir is famous for its melons, Sabirabad and Zire for their watermelons.

Potatoes are grown without irrigation in Gedebey, Tovuz, Shemkir, partially Dashkesen, Khanlar, and Qusar regions of Azerbaijan. Domestic potatoes do not meet the demands of population, and is additionally purchased from abroad.

Horticulture (fruit-growing) is one of the specialized fields of agriculture in Azerbaijan. Quba-Khachmaz is specialized on seedy fruids, Zakatala-Sheki on nuts (chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts), Nakhchivan AR on stony fruits (peach, apricot), Kur-Araz on dry sub-tropical fruits (pomegranate, quince), Lenkeran on citrus fruits (orange, mandarin, feykhoa, lemon), Absheron peninsula on the Southern plants (fig, olive, pistachio, almond, etc). The largest region of fruit-growing in Azerbaijan is Quba.   of the fruits are produced in Quba, 15% in Sheki-Zakatala and Nagorno Shirvan economic regions. 95% of nuts production is centralized in Sheki-Zakatala economic region. There are many mulberry trees in Kur-Araz and Upper Karabakh regions.

Animal husbandry. Although animal husbandry is the main part of agriculture in Azerbaijan, it meets only half of the demands of population to meat, dairy and egg products. Due to large pastures and the shortage to cultivable lands, animal husbandry developed more than plant-growing in the mountainous regions of Azerbaijan, especially in Nagorno Shirvan and Kelbecer-Lachin economic regions.

Cattle-breeding – comprises more than 50% of total value of animal husbandry products and 45% of meat production in Azerbaijan. Cattle are the main part of cattle-breeding. In Aran and Sheki-Zakatala regions bufalo, in Lerik and Yardimli regions Zebu are raised for meat and milk production. Cattle-breeding has developed in all regions of Azerbaijan 70% of the cattle are cows and buffaloes in Azerbaijan.

Sheep-breeding developed in the mountainous regions and foothills of Azerbaijan Mountain Merinos, Qala, Qarabakh, Balbas and other breeds of sheep are raised in Azerbaijan. The meat, skin, and wool of the sheep are used. The speedy breeding, little labor, and little demand for feeding has made sheep-breeding one of the most efficient fields of animal husbandry for meeting the demands of population to meat in Azerbaijan. There are enough natural feed resources, summer and winter pastures for the development of sheep-breeding in Azerbaijan. The majority of summer pastures being under occupation hinders the development of sheep-breeding in Azerbaijan.

Poultry meets the demands of population to egg and poultry. The largest poultry complexes are in Baku, Gandja, and Nakhchivan. The deficiency of feed resources hinders the development of poultry in Azerbaijan.

Silkworm building – has developed in Sheki-Zakatala, Kur-Araz, Upper Karabakh, and in the plain and foothills of Nakhchivan.

Apiculture – has developed in the sub-alpine and alpine meadows of highlands and foothills of Azerbaijan.

1. Irrigated regions of agriculture (Kur-Araz, Lenkeran, Samur-Devechi lowlands, and Araz River plains in Nakhchivan);

2. Agricultural regions without irrigation (foothills and middle highlands);

3. Pastures and regions of animal husbandry.

Azerbaijan has not specialized in the silkworm breeding, apiculture, and paddy growing fields of agriculture yet.

The fully-specialized fields of agriculture are cotton-growing, horticulture, vim-growing, vegetable-growing, tobacco-growing, etc.

Cotton has been the most profitable and strategic plant in Azerbaijan, and is raw material for both light and food industry. Cotton came to the Caucasus, especially to Azerbaijan from Ancient Eastern countries, in particular from Iran. During archeological researches in Mingechevir burnt cotton hanks and seeds dating back to the V-VI centuries were found.

The historical sources show that the cotton materials produced in Berde, Nakhchivan, Beylegan, Gandja, Shemkir and other cities were exported abroad, that cotton materials were sent to Russia from Samakhi in the XV century.

Cotton is grown in the brown, gray-brown, gray-meadow lands of Kur-Araz lowlands. The majority of cotton is sent abroad, as cotton production enterprises are very few in Azerbaijan. All cotton plants are built in Kur-Araz zone, for raw material production is in this region.

General cotton production in the country has reached 31900 tons in 2009, 37300 tons in 2010. Cotton fields reached 21000 ha in 2009, 30000 ha in 2010. This year, agreements were signed on 41000 ha cotton fields.

Grain production (wheat, corn, rice, barley, etc) is in the first place among agricultural plants. This is the oldest branch of plant-growing in Azerbaijan. In the lowland regions of Azerbaijan irrigational grain production, in the highlands and foothills production without irrigation have developed.

Saribugda, gurgeni, qaraqilchiq, xirdabugda, guluser, kere, Karabakh wheat, white wheat, shekilibugda, garagile bugda, topbashbugda, white barley, black barley, shesheri barley, qilici barley and other types of wheat and barley are grown in Azerbaijan.

The barley grown in a third of grain fields coincide with the wheat fields.

Corn production fields are dominant in Sheki-Zakatala regions. Paddy growing (rice) developed in Lenkeran and Sheki-Zakatala regions in recent years.

Now, grains are planted in 60% of cultivable lands. The objective is to meet the demand of the country of grains, and to prevent the increase of bread prices in the country. Therefore, in comparison with 2010, grains were planted in additional 6000 ha fields in 2011.

Vine-growing has been a special branch of agriculture since ancient times and was mainly an industrial product in Azerbaijan. Now, it is one of the priority branches of agriculture from the point of view of developing the economy of the country. 

In the last 2 years, large plantations have been founded in Khanlar, Tovuz, Qebele, Yevlakh and other regions. Foreign specialists have been invented. More than 70 grape sorts, which were brought from France, Italy, Spain, Iran, Georgia, Moldavia, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and other countries, are planted in various parts of our republic.

For its economic importance tobacco is considered the second technical plant in Azerbaijan. 

In the past, 50% of tobacco of the country was produced in Zakatala and Qakh regions.

The increasing attention to this field resulted in the restoration and development of tobacco-growing in recent years. Former tobacco-growers show great interest in the establishment of farms. The calculations show that tobacco-growing is the main income source of up to 100 farmers, and 3000 people in general.

“Samsun”, “Trabzon”, “Itiyarpaq” and other valuable tobacco sorts are grown in Azerbaijan.

In 2010, tobacco production was 3243 t. 634 t more tobacco leaves have been produced in the last year in comparison with 2009.

Horticulture (fruit-growing) and vegetable-growing

Horticulture is one of the specialized branches of agriculture in Azerbaijan. Quba-Khachmaz is specialized on seedy fruits, Zakatala-Sheki on nuts (chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts), Nakhchivan AR on stony fruits (peach, apricot), Kur-Araz on dry sub-tropical fruits (pomegranate, quince), Lenkeran on citrus fruits (orange, mandarin, feykhoa, lemon), Absheron peninsula on the Southern plants (fig, olive, pistachio, almond, etc). The largest region of fruit-growing in Azerbaijan is Quba.   of the fruits are produced in Quba, 15% in Sheki-Zakatala and Nagorno Shirvan economic regions. 95% of nuts production is centralized in Sheki-Zakatala economic region. There are many mulberry trees in Kur-Araz and Upper Karabakh regions.

Khachmaz, Lenkeran, and partly Aran and Absheron regions are specialised on vegetable-growing. Khachmaz is specialized on the slow-growing, Lenkeran on fast-growing vegetables. A great amount of vegetables are grown in the hothouses near Gandja city. In recent years, the fields of cabbage are enlarged in Agdash.

Melon-growing is highly developed in Aran, Absheron, and Lenkeran region of Azerbaijan. Kurdemir is famous for its melons, Sabirabad and Zire for their watermelons.