Azerbaijan to soon start issuing lump-sum subsidies to orchard farmers

By Trend

Azerbaijani farmers, to be paid a lump-sum subsidy for intensive orchards of 6 types of fruit crops (orange, tangerine, lemon, hazelnuts, olives, pomegranate), planted in 2021, will receive sowing subsidies at a large coefficient (3.5) per hectare during the next 4 years, a source in the Ministry of Agriculture told Trend on Jan.22.

According to the source, in order to partially compensate for the costs of creating intensive orchards in the current year, a lump-sum subsidy of 11,000 manat ($6,470) per hectare will be paid for lemon orchards; 9,000 manat ($5,300) - for orange and tangerine orchards per hectare; 5,000 manat ($2,940) - for pomegranate orchards per hectare; 4,900 manat ($2,880) - for olive orchards per hectare; and 4,400 manat ($2,590) - for hazelnut orchards.

Besides, the owners of the orchards will receive a sowing subsidy in the amount of 700 manat ($412) per hectare. To encourage the planting of new orchards, this subsidy will be allocated for the first 4 years since an orchard's planting.

The farmers can apply from February 1 through May 31, 2021 for receiving the lump-sum subsidy. To this end, the farmer must register with the Electronic Agriculture Information System (EAIS) with the appropriate document confirming the right to use the land plot. As part of the process, the farmer must enter the coordinates of the land plot into the system, which will later be examined.

The main conditions for receiving the are planting of an orchard in 2021, planting of seedlings in accordance with the rules for creating intensive gardens during the monitoring period, and installation of a drip irrigation system. Additional conditions for hazelnut, olive and pomegranate orchards will be announced later.

For orchards not meeting the above conditions only a lump-sum planting grant will be issued.

As earlier reported, since January 2020, the local farmers have been applying for subsidies through the EAIS, and the subsidies have been transferred to their farm cards. According to the new rule, only 25 percent of subsidies for sowing paid to farmers can be cashed out, the rest of the farmer receives by paying through POS terminals for seeds, fertilizers, and other materials necessary for economic activities.

Additional information about the subsidies is available on www.dxr.az. Also, the necessary information can be found on the website of the Agency for Agrarian Credit and Development www.akia.gov.az.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on Jan. 22))