Reviving Azerbaijan’s cotton industry with nuclear techniques and climate-smart agriculture

©FAO/Asim Hafeez
31/07/2023
The first traces of cotton growing in Azerbaijan date back thousands of years. During the Soviet era, it was referred to as "white gold," accounting for approximately 25 percent of agricultural revenue. However, the transition to a free market economy, coupled with the rapid growth of alternative industries in the 1990s, contributed to cotton losing its key role. Production fell to a record low of 31 000 tonnes in 2009, compared to more than 830 000 tonnes in the 1980s.