Construction of new water canals is planned on the Hakari, Bargushad, and Araz rivers, Azerbaijani MP Parvana Valiyeva stated, Report informs.
Speaking during a public hearing held by the Agrarian Policy Committee of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan, Valiyeva noted that these three rivers are considered Azerbaijan's transit rivers. For many years, Armenia has been polluting these rivers as a result of illegal mining activities that violate ecological norms.
She added that climate change and the reduction of water resources directly affect agriculture, especially food security.
The MP stated that in recent years, global warming and increasing droughts have slowed plant development and seriously impacted productivity: "This is not just Azerbaijan's problem, but the result of disruption to the global ecological balance. Food security was one of the main topics discussed during the COP29 climate conference."
Valiyeva also pointed out that the uneven distribution of precipitation across the country reduces productivity and product quality despite agrotechnical measures. Currently, only 20% of irrigation water demand is met by internal resources, while the remaining 80% depends on transit rivers, she said.
The MP further mentioned that water resources have decreased by 15-20%, and this situation makes the application of innovative irrigation technologies - especially drip irrigation systems - inevitable: "It is important for small farm owners to also benefit from these systems."
She highlighted that the subsidy mechanism approved by the Agrarian Subsidy Council for 2025 has been announced: "Subsidies are provided in both money and product form. In crop production, planting subsidies based on regional planting, crop and seed coefficients, and seed and seedling quotas are currently determined by hectare of land. In this case, whether there is a harvest or not, government funds are spent."
According to her, some farmers get 5 tons of product from the same area, while others get 1 ton, but both receive the same amount of subsidy: "A more fair approach should be applied here."
