Potential of Growing Strawberries in Azerbaijan Is Big

Azerbaijan can fully meet the demand for strawberries at the expense of local production. This was announced on Friday at the Strawberry Fair held in the city of Ganja, at which the farmers of five districts of the country put 3 tonnes of the new strawberry variety 'Victoria' grown since 2011.

"The yield of local varieties of strawberries is 10-12 tons per 1 ha. A 1 hectare American variety 'Victoria' can collect about 25 tons of crops," the coordinator of SMART - Project to support poor farmers Elvin Nabiev told Turan. The new strawberry variety has shown itself a steady one: unlike the local varieties, it can remain stable up to 3 days.

SMART project is aimed at creating the conditions for a sustainable chain from production to sale and processing of strawberries in the Agdam, Barda and Tartar districts. It is being implemented since 2010 and is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The cost of the three-year program is $ 1.5 million.

SMART project is implemented by Oxfam Azerbaijan. "The aim of the fair is not only a representation of "Victoria" to the Ganja residents, but also to processing companies that meet their power at the expense of imports from Turkey, China and Iran," said the head of the humanitarian organization Oxfam in Azerbaijan Shovket Alizadeh. During the fair, the enterprises Interpark, Azersun, Elsu, Badaml?, Dag Chicheyim and Nord presented their products.

According to the research project SMART, Azerbaijan produces about 600 tons of strawberries per year. Exactly half of this accounts for the farmers in Jalilabad. The annual import of strawberries is about 900 tons. - 08D -