BRIEF DEVELOPMENT HISTORY OF «AGROMECHANICS»SCIENTIFIC – RESEARCH INSTITUTE

On Act №28 by the Council of Ministers of the former Azerbaijan USSR, Agromechanics Scientific – Research Institute was established on January 7, 1958 under the name of Mechanization and Electrification of Azerbaijan Agricultural Research Institute on the basis of mechanization departments of agricultural scientific research institutes operating in the Republic.

The institute which was entitled as “Agromechanics Science – Production Center” by the order No 135 dated May 23,1997 of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Azerbaijan Republic, and as Azerbaijan Agromechanics Scientific – Research Institute starting from December 16, 1999 by the act №190 of the Cabinet of Ministers, functioned as a state-functioned, part-time and state-owned enterprise in the structural subordination of the Agrarian Science Center of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Later, due to decree No 109 dated April 17, 2015 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Republic, on the improvement of the structure of the Azerbaijan Agrarian Science Center and its subordinate scientific-research institutes, the institute was renamed as the “Agromechanics Scientific-Research İnstitute”, which is the legal successor of that institute and was subordinated to the Azerbaijan State Agrarian University under the Ministry of Agriculture.

The main objective of the institute is to implement the agricultural strategy – food security of the country within its background. Acting on this purpose, the basic liability of the institute consists of working out the complex of machines and progressive technologies for complex mechanization of plant-growing and cattle breeding, devising state-of-the-art technical equipment, the use of alternative and renewable energy resources, a more innovative resource for processing and recycling agricultural products and the establishment of energy-efficient and environmentally – friendly technologies.

In the period of its establishment, the workshops such as “Soil cultivation, sowing and suppressor”, “Harvesters and initial processing of the product”, “Tractor and operation and maintenance of agricultural machinery”, “Electricity application in agriculture”, “Constructor office” and the “Practice workshop” operated within the structure of the institute. At the mentioned period there were 46 employees only two of whom had a scientific degree.

Meanwhile the staff potential increased, new departments and laboratories emerged afterwards: “The system of machines”, “Mechanization of mountain farming” , “Development of norms and technical service”, “Machine building”, “Processing machines”, “Alternative energy sources”, “Administrative office”, “Technical equipment” departments and 10 laboratories within the mentioned departments: “Technical crops”, “Horticulture and Viticulture”, “Construction of new machines”, “Design of new machines and technical design”, “Feed production machinery”, “Packaging and storage of subtropical plants”, “Cereal processing machines”, “ Measuring devices and technical means”, “Livestock processing machinery” laboratories and Sabirabad Stand Point. There were altogether 155 people, including 78 scientific workers (20 out of those were PhD, 3 of whom were doctors of sciences) and the remaining 77 held other positions.
During the first state leadership of the Nationwide leader Haydar Aliyev (1969-1982) the achievements of the institute were particularly distinguished. Thus, the scientific – research and experimental – design works of the institute were coordinated by the leading institutes like ВИМ, ВИЭСХ, ГОСНИТИ, САНИИМЕ, ВАСХНИЛ, ВИСХОМ , as well as by the USSR and the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Technical Association. Constuctive works were fulfilled alongside with construction companies in the cities like Moscow, Kishinyov, Tashkent, Odessa, Baku and so on. The employees of the Institute participated in a number of international scientific-technical conferences, symposiums and seminars held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tbilisi and other cities and contributed to the developmental issues of agricultural production.

On December 16, 1980, while National Leader Heydar Aliyev was in Ganja (formerly Kirovabad city), he was introduced various machines, equipment made by the scientists of the institute, he expressed his positive feedback and gave useful recommendations.

Consequently, the institute was awarded with the Transitional Red flag of Trade Unions and State Committee of Agrarian Industry of the Azerbaijan Republic in 1986 and in 1986-87 respectively, among the SR Institutes it was the winner of the competition on inventive and efficient proposals.

After the structural changes in the Agrarian Science Center and institute in 2015, the Institute included the following departments: “Processing and recycling of agricultural products”, “Mechanization of gardening”, “Mechanization of viticulture”, “Mechanization of plant growing”, “Technical maintenance and agroservice” , “Mechanization of technological processes in cattle breeding and feed production”, “Construction of new machines and designs”, “Information support, patent and technical means” laboratories, “Technical equipment and economy” department and Sabirabad Base Point under the subordination of Azerbaijan State Agrarian University.

Currently, there are 90 employees in the Institute, 43 of whom are researchers, including 7 PhD in technical sciences, associate professors, and 3 of whom are PhDs in technics. The remaining 47 employees include specialists, laboratory assistants and assisting staff.

In the past 60 years, some applied work has been carried out in the institute. Cotton and tobacco crushing machine, mechanical retardation during cotton extraction, cotton sprayer, PAB – 10 device for cotton sowing, spraying device for sowing herbicide in vineyards, YBTC – 20 branded device for breastfeeding, devices for milking of buffaloes and sheep, fruit washer, chopping and drying devices have been established in the institute and in different factories of the country, successfully applied in relevant fields and had substantially economic benefit to agriculture.

More than 1700 scientific articles were published by the institute staff in various scientific magazines of the Republic and abroad. More than 350 inventions were granted with the certificate of copyright and patent from the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan. 80 new machines and devices, 5 new technology and machinery complexes, 70 consulting paperbacks, 36 books and monographs, and 38 new construction machinery have been included in the former alliance machine systems and 8 of them were produced in the series of machine-building plants of the former USSR. These designs were awarded with 2 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze medals at 7th International Exhibition (USSR, CSSR, Iran) and one invention was granted a patent from France, Bulgaria and the AFR.

In the last 15 years, the institute has developed the following devices: combined soil cultivation machines, fruit and vegetable drying equipment, pasteurizer for primary processing of milk, fruits and vegetables conserving equipment, crushing and sorting machines, corn drills and so on which have aroused special interest among the farmers. Some of these machines were tested by the Ganja State Machinery Testing Station according to the instruction of the Ministry of Agriculture and were highly appreciated and their wide application was recommended. Small-sized, less energy-efficient machines; dry grass grinder, universal cereal grinder, device removing corn from cob, device removing green bark from the walnut and washing machines have already been produced at Kaspi-Star Plant (Baku) with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic. Those machines were arranged for sale in the line of “Agroleasing” and have already been put into use by local farmers. A set of combined machines for the mechanization of viticulture, horticulture and agriculture has been submitted to the State Test. In the upcoming years device removing green bark from the walnut, dry grass grinder, device of chopping-grinding the leaves of mulberry, shallow water artesian well pumping machine, sapling extractor are planned to be projected.

Currently, the institute continues its research work on the solution of three problems in the direction of “Providing the Republic’s agrarian industry with energy and resource-saving technology and technical means”: “Development of innovative energy and resource saving technologies and technical means for complex mechanization of plant and cattle breeding”, “Development of more advanced technologies and technical means for processing and recycling of agricultural products”, “Efficient use of alternative and renewable energy resources in the agrarian sector”.

While choosing scientific research topics in the Institute, the agrarian policy of our state is taken into account, the achievements and best practices of the world science are studied, analyzed, summarized as well as the proposals of local farmers are taken into consideration. The institute operates within a close cooperation with farmers to apply scientific innovations in those farms, organizes regular meetings with farmers from surrounding districts, and provides the necessary consultation and recommendations.
The employees of the Institute periodically attend international scientific conferences held in the Republic and abroad, as well as hold consultations and seminars on important scientific problems, participate in national agricultural exhibitions.

Staff training in the institute is carried out through a doctorate. Over the past 60 years, about 200 scientific workers have completed their dissertation work and granted with a scientific degree, 5 of whom were doctors of technical sciences. Our other scientific achievements over the past 15 years are the followings:
– Patents for invention_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 34 pieces
– Published scientific articles(local and foreign journals) _ _ _ _ _396 pieces
– Published books_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 5 pieces
– Collection of scientific works_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _7 pieces
– Recommendations _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 38 pieces
– Prepared experimental devices_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _31 pieces
– Devices have been passed from the state test_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 16 pieces – Devices prepared as a party form in the factory conditions_ _ _ _ 12 pieces
– Speeches in the press (in newspaper and TV) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 42 times
– Students studying at the doctorate_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 47people
– Defended dissertation works_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 28 pieces

Currently, the institute cooperates with a number of scientific and educational institutions in our country, as well as the All-Russian SR Electrification Institute, All-Russian SR Mechanization Institute, All-Russian SR Technology Institute, the Belarus National Academy of Sciences with the Scientific-Practical Center for Agricultural Mechanization, Georgia SRA Mechanization Institute, UN FAO, IKARDA Organizations, Azerbaijan Agrarian Science and Information Counseling Center, Agroleasing OJSC and Kaspi-Star Plant.

Our state always pays special attention and care to the institute. The budget estimate of the institute has been increased 36 times in 2018 compared with 2003, fixed assets 2,95 times, the average monthly salary has been increased from 58 manat to 305 manat, ie. has increased 5,2 times.

Periodically two employees of the Institute have been awarded with Honored Inventors of the former Soviet Union, two with honored engineers of the Republic, the other two with honored agricultural workers, one with the Order of Honor, and the other one was with Progress Medal.

Our future priorities encompass to restore the work of the Special Design Bureau (BCC) in the institute, to establish a simple base for agricultural machine building industry and to respond the special attention and care exercised by our state.