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.