Elite seeds of Russian wheat to be delivered to Armenia in mid-September

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Minister of Agriculture Gerasim Alaverdyan said that the Ministry has launched implementation of the program on development of seed production. Meanwhile, elite wheat seeds from Russia will be delivered to Armenia in mid-September, Alaverdyan told journalists in Yerevan.

“Negotiations are held with Russia on delivery of 950t, while local producers have another 500t,” he said.

To implement the program, a working group has been formed, which is in Shirak region to study areas, which are appropriate for the development of seed production. According to Alaverdyan, seeds will be provided to those villagers, who offer at least 3ha of relevant land plot. “We have already received applications for 18,000ha, out of which 5,000ha will be chosen,” he said.

As part of the program implementation, it is expected to gain harvest at 1/2 ratio during the first year, while volumes of import will be decreased during the next 2-3 years. “The local production of elite wheat seeds is envisaged to be brought to 3000-3300t against 2000t,” the Minister said.

As a result of the program implementation, it is expected that the volume of wheat production will make 300,000-350,000t per year against 150,000-160,000t, what will allow increasing the level of wheat provision in the country from 37% to 55%.