Karabakh Scientific Research Base of the Genetic Resources Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, located in the Aghdara region, functioned from 1950 to July 1989 as a world-renowned exemplary research base.

The main activities of the base were collection and study of genetic resources of cereals, legumes, fodder and technical crops, fruits, berries, grapes and other plants and farm animals, their effective use in breeding, creation of new plant varieties and animal breeds, organization and dissemination of their initial seed growing and breeding.

As it is known, in July 1989, the Armenian aggressors seized the Karabakh Scientific Research Base, 1694 hectares of its land, houses, administrative and farm buildings, seed processing factory, storages, livestock farms, artesian wells, transformer stations, many tractors, combines, cars and other agricultural machinery, equipment, livestock (200 cattles, hybrids between local buffaloes of Azerbaijan and Murrah buffaloes of India, 500 sheeps), the gene pool gardens of fruits, grapes, and subtropical plants (500 fruit varieties), as well as other properties were seized, appropriated and torn down; and the republican research base was illegally transformed into a fruit and vegetable state farm by the decision of the former Mardakert district organizations. The plant gene pool conserved at the base, including accessions of world and local collections of cereals, rare, unique intergeneric, interspecific and natural hybrids, very valuable breeding materials (more than 200 thousand) and elite and primary seed materials of regionalized varieties remained under occupation, forest strips, fruit trees in parks and gardens have been cut down and burned, and subtropical plants with irreplaceable genetic resources have been completely destroyed.

These days, under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, our National Army is giving a worthy response to the enemy, and successful operations are bringing victory closer. We are confident that all our lands, including the Karabakh Scientific Research Base, will be fully liberated and fully restored in a short period, and large-scale research will be carried out there to make a real contribution to the country's food security.

Zeynal AKPAROV, Director of the Genetic Resources Institute, corresponding member of ANAS

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