Agro-Ecological Zones and their Impact on Farm Production and Farm Organization after Privatization in Azerbaijan.

The privatization of agriculture in Azerbaijan started in the mid 1990s, while the pace of privatization in the country differs. Some Rayons have privatized almost all of the former state-owned agricultural land while others hold a wait and see strategy. The agricultural administration observes the recent agricultural development with suspicion. Specifically, there are concerns about the decrease in wheat production in the area and about a possible collapse of agriculture production in general. In addition to the perceived changes in agriculture production there are obvious problems on the management of natural resources, which may have an impact on farm production. In this paper we present the results of a combined natural resources and farm household survey conducted during the first six month of the year 2000 in Sagatalla Rayon. The results show the Rayon can be divided into five agro-ecological zones. Agriculture is concentrated in two zones. Average farm income was higher among the households farming in the less favorable agricultural zone, while on a hectare basis the average gross margin for major crops was higher in the more favorable agro-ecological zone. Households without off-farm income opportunities were the losers of privatization. The results further show that wheat production cannot compete with other annual crops like tobacco, maize and vegetables. Further results on net- benefits of improved natural resource management and implications for regional agriculture policies will be discussed.agriculture production, agro-ecological zones, Azerbaijan, household income, privatization,