SABIRABAD, Azerbaijan, June 24. One of the main tasks is to achieve higher productivity per cubic meter of water in Azerbaijan, Chairman of Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency, Zaur Mikayilov, said at a regional consultation on cotton growing development issues in Sabirabad, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
"One of the main challenges facing us today is not only to provide more water, but to achieve higher productivity from each cubic meter of water," he explained.
Mikayilov emphasized that the implementation of modern irrigation systems is of particular importance.
"One of the main tasks facing us today is not only to provide more water, but also to create a climate-change-resistant model based on achieving higher productivity from each cubic meter of water. In this context, the abandonment of traditional flood irrigation methods in the agricultural sector and the expansion of the application of modern irrigation systems - drip and pivot technologies, laser leveling, and progressive agrotechnical care tools such as dividing into lines - is of particular importance. The implementation of modern irrigation technologies prevents soil salinization, significantly increases productivity, and maximizes the economic efficiency of investment by saving our water resources," he noted.
The official also touched upon the issue of providing cotton fields with irrigation water.
"In 2025, cotton was sown on 107,492 hectares in 23 regions of our republic, and irrigation water was provided 3.6 times in total. This year, cotton was sown on 90,579 hectares in 21 regions of our republic, and irrigation water was provided accordingly. Currently, the provision of vegetation water to the aforementioned crops continues according to the schedule. We all know that cotton is a plant with high humidity and water demand during the vegetation period. However, in recent years, the negative effects of climate change, the extension of dry periods, the dynamic change in the volume of precipitation, and the increasing pressure on water resources, especially during the vegetation period, have created a number of new needs. In this regard, important projects are being implemented to develop irrigation infrastructure and minimize water losses in our regions with a tradition of cotton growing, especially in the Aran, Karabakh, East Zangezur, and Mil-Mughan zones," he added.
