Agriculture and Rural Development program launched in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Union Delegation to Armenia and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) held Friday, a ceremony to launch ENPARD (European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development) Armenia.

This program will be implemented over the next three years, providing €20 million of budget support for the government of Armenia to enhance agricultural and rural development. Further €5 million will be provided to support the Ministry of Agriculture to promote the development of farmers groups and value adding chains.

Sergo Karapetyan, the Minister of Agriculture welcomed participants and expressed gratitude to the European Union and Austrian Development Cooperation for the support within ENPARD program. He expressed confidence that existing problems in the agricultural sector can be addressed effectively through cooperation with EU and other donor states and organizations. Minister has presented recent developments as well as government priorities in the agricultural sector.

"The European Union is delighted to provide substantial financial support to the agricultural sector," noted the Head of the EU Delegation, ambassador Traian Hristea. "ENPARD Armenia will be a source of significant opportunities for the government and private citizens to develop and improve agriculture and rural development in Armenia and enhance prospects for the future," he added.

Gunther Zimmer, ADA Head of Office for South Caucasus noted that “Strengthening producer groups and improving effectiveness of supported value chains in Lori, Shirak and Tavush regions is the primary focus for Austrian Development Cooperation”. He also underlined that “Agriculture is and will continue in the future to be one of the most important parts of ADC’s strategy”. He explained: “Because we strongly believe in the positive impact that our financial assistance, in combination with critical know-how transfer, can bring to rural communities in Northern Armenia”.

The announced support will improve the agricultural institutions, encourage the development of farmers’ associations and improve access to more affordable food. The program will focus on women, youth and other vulnerable groups. Beneficiaries of the program are rural communities, producers, producer group members, employees, and their families throughout Armenia. Complementary activities funded by Austria will be implemented in Shirak, Lori and Tavush provinces.

Within the framework of the program UNIDO, UNDP and FAO will provide technical support to the government of Armenia in close cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, local authorities and other stakeholders.

UNIDO and UNDP will join efforts to strengthen and establish producer groups and engage them effectively in value chain development. FAO will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture for institutional development and policy support, regarding technical issues to increase productivity, better land management and the roll-out of the national agricultural census.

The proposed support, in line with EU assistance priorities, should contribute directly to achieving the Eastern Partnership key objective of reduction of economic and social disparities. Given the high unemployment and lack of livelihoods and income, poverty levels in Armenia remain high, particularly in rural areas. Thus, agriculture and subsistence farming represent a broad-based opportunity for food security and informal employment. There is a great need for improving agricultural institutions, strengthening capacity and performance of farmers associations and cooperatives, increasing access to more affordable food and supporting the roll-out of a general agricultural census.