On May 25, President Ilham Aliyev chaired a meeting dedicated to agricultural issues in Azerbaijan.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the head of state delivered a comprehensive speech at the meeting, outlining the historical development, current challenges, and future strategic goals of the country's agrarian sector.
In his address, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that agriculture has always received immense state attention, starting with the first regional development program initiated in 2004. These programs have revitalized Azerbaijan's regions, boosted employment, and established critical infrastructure. Excluding the liberated territories, gasification in Azerbaijan has reached 96 percent, electricity supply is fully secured with significant export potential, and major reservoirs like Takhtakorpu and Shamkirchay have been constructed.
The head of state highlighted that Azerbaijan is one of the few countries globally to implement extensive and diverse subsidy mechanisms, alongside concessions for fertilizers and fuel. While acknowledging significant progress in sectors like cotton and cocoon production, President Ilham Aliyev expressed that recent dynamics in agricultural production have not been entirely satisfactory. Consequently, a new, concrete, and short-term State Program for 2026–2030 has been drafted to accelerate development, requiring over 2 billion manats in state funding and more than 3 billion manats from the private sector.
President Ilham Aliyev also shared self-sufficiency figures, noting that Azerbaijan meets 55 percent of its wheat demand, 63 percent for pulses, 91 percent for potatoes, 84 percent for beef, 82 percent for poultry, and 94 percent for mutton, while achieving over 100 percent for vegetables, fruits, and eggs. He urged local and foreign investors to contribute to import substitution in these areas. Furthermore, the President emphasized the importance of efficient land use, modern irrigation systems (aiming to expand from 130,000 to 300,000 hectares), and utilizing the water resources of liberated Garabagh and East Zangezur.
Following the President's speech, Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov presented a report on "Agricultural development: current status and 2030 perspectives." He noted that in 2025, agriculture accounted for 5.9 percent of the GDP and 8.3 percent of the non-oil GDP, providing nearly 50 percent of employment in the regions. The Minister detailed plans to increase wheat and cotton yields to 5 tons per hectare, expand intensive orchards by 20,000 hectares, and boost meat and poultry production to achieve 100 percent self-sufficiency by 2030.
Zaur Mikayilov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency, also addressed the meeting. He reported that in 2025, 11.5 billion cubic meters of water were drawn from all sources to irrigate 1.485 million hectares of farmland. He highlighted ongoing infrastructure projects, including the reconstruction of the Sugovushan, Khachinchay, and Kondalanchay reservoirs, and the ongoing work on the Shirvan and Garabagh canals, which will significantly improve water security across the country.
