Azernews.Az

By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade

Azerbaijan has recently started creation of cooperatives – unions where farmers will be able to combine production resources, effectively use technologies, which will reduce the costs of cooperative’s members. At the same time, it will be possible to get more and better products due to the correct organization of planting activities.

Within the technical assistance for the implementation of the EU-funded Rural and Regional Development Support Program, a constituent meeting of Maljak Viticulture Production Cooperative has been held in Shamakhi region of Azerbaijan.

Representatives of Agriculture Ministry, Shamakhi State Center for Agricultural Development, Agricultural Procurement and Supply OJSC, specialists of the technical assistance project of the Rural and Regional Development Support Program, as well as members of the cooperative and rural residents participated in the meeting.

Azer Aliyev, Head of the Ministry’s Department for Working with Farmers, Associations and Cooperatives, and Fuad Mammadov, Senior Consultant of the Department, gave the meeting participants detailed information about the state support for the cooperative creation process.

Ruslan Ismayilov, Representative of Agricultural Procurement and Supply OJSC, spoke about the benefits of cooperatives for farmers in marketing their products. Ismayilov also informed the audience about the support that the company may provide to cooperatives.

It was noted that the establishment of cooperatives helps to solve problems that farmers face, as well as to efficiently organize their activities and decrease costs.

The establishment of farmer cooperatives plays an important role in uniting agricultural producers to work more efficiently, increase productivity and participate in planned farming. For this purpose, Agricultural Procurement and Supply OJSC regularly holds educational trainings in accordance with farmers’ directions of activity.

As for viticulture in Azerbaijan, it has an ancient history. The proof of this is that during the archaeological excavations, conducted in Aghstafa region of Azerbaijan in 1962, grape seeds were found. Archaeological finds in Uzerliktepe, Kultepe and Gazakh testify to the ancient culture of winemaking, which dates back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC.

Presently, about 40 winemaking enterprises operate in Azerbaijan, producing natural wine, sparkling wine, liqueur, brandy, vodka, ethyl alcohol, cognac, etc.

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Mirsaid Ibrahimzade is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MirsaidIbrahim1

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