Aghjabadi region to increase production of silkworm cocoons

Sericulture in Azerbaijan is a branch of agriculture that has been spread throughout the country since ancient times and is still developing today.

Agjabedi as one the Arran region’s districts is predominantly agricultural area. Cotton, flour and sericulture flourish in the region since former Soviet Union period.

Nowadays, sericulture is one of the main directions in the agriculture development chosen by the state.

The production of silkworm cocoons in the Agjabedi region of Azerbaijan is planned to reach 50-60 tons, although the main production areas are located in Shaki, head of Aghjabadi district Executive Power Shahin Mammadov said.

Mammadov noted that this sector is revived thanks to government support.

Government supports this sector through several programs simultaneously. As part of the programs for the development of sericulture, the government, after purchasing silkworms from China and cultivating them in incubators, transfers them to farmers free of charge.

Thus, outstanding results were obtained in financial terms last year.

Mammadov said that last year the production of silkworm cocoons reached 37 tons, having increased 2.2 times over a year.The farmers' income from the production of silkworm cocoons exceeded 330,000 manats.

He added that over the past five years, 614 million manats were invested in the region, and production increased by 2.7 times, including agricultural products - by 1.9 times.

One of the primary functions of the state program is creation of jobs for regions’ population, since unemployment in rural areas is always higher than in the cities. Therefore, within the process of designing the project, one of the priorities is to create capacity for human labor, but do not also neglect machine help and advanced technologies to reduce cost and time of production.

In 2018, 55,000 people were attracted to agricultural work in the district, which makes up 51 percent of the district's employed population, Mammadov said. Moreover, 22,000 villagers were attracted to seasonal work in cotton production, he added.

Mammadov also noted that the volume of cotton production in recent years has increased tenfold and reached 23,300 tons, while the productivity per hectare reached 23.3 centners.

As part of the implementation of the State Program of Azerbaijan on the development of cocoon and silk production for the period 20182025, one million mulberry seedlings were imported into Azerbaijan from the People's Republic of China.

So far 3.5 million seedlings have been brought into the country, and last year 514 tons of cocoons have been collected.

The first results of the State Program are already evident. If in 2015, a total of 236 kilograms of cocoons were collected in the country, in 2016 already 70.7 tons were produced, and in 2017 this figure reached 245.2 tons.

In accordance with the state program of cocoon and sericulture, it is envisaged to increase production in the industry to 6,000 tons of cocoons annually by 2025.

The history of sericulture in Azerbaijan dates back to almost 1,500 years.

When it comes to silk in Azerbaijan, the first place that comes to mind is the ancient city of Sheki, which once considered the largest center for the production of silk and silk farming in the Middle Ages.

Delicate fabrics, beautiful clothes, and colorful kelagayis (silk headscarf) manufactured by Sheki craftsmen from raw silk, were exported to foreign countries, so the city became famous for its silk throughout the world.

In the Soviet period, Azerbaijan ranked second after Uzbekistan for the production of silk cocoon but was considered first in fiber quality.