Government commits to give a new life to cotton-growing

Aconference on the development of cotton-growing in Azerbaijan was held in the country’s Saatli region on March 28 with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev.

Cotton production, once considered to be a key culture for the rural areas of the country, now gets a chance to revive, following considerable decline observed over the past few years.

"We invested, and we will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the development of cotton growing, said President Ilham Aliyev addressing the conference.

The country expects to see a real growth in cotton production, as the government has focused on giving a new life to this industry. The presidential decree on state support for cotton production, dated September 22, 2016 is aimed to facilitate the lives of many farmers engaged in this field.

“Therefore, state support, joint work of all state structures, private structures and support provided by the public led to a completely new situation. I am confident that this year the figures will be even better, there is no doubt about it,” he said.“Since last year, we have been providing very large state support to cotton growing. Today's meeting is the second one, and holding of these meetings is a manifestation of this support.”

The work could have remained incomplete unless citizens showed interest in this sphere, said the head of state, attributing it as an important factor.

At the same time, we are taking very serious measures to stimulate citizens and farmers, President Aliyev added.

“No other country has created such conditions for farmers as we have done. Our farmers are exempt from all taxes, including land tax,” he said.