Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine: Association of milk producers should be established in Armenia for development of diary sector

ArmInfo. Association of milk producers should be established in Armenia for development of diary production and increase of production amounts, Head of Counseling Department of "Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine" Yuri Sivov stated answering to ArmInfo's correspondent's question related to introduction of Ukrainian experience in development of Armenian diary production. He made the remark during the "Innovation and Knowledge-Sharing in the Dairy Sector" forum, organized by the EBRD.

He mentioned that it will be easier for them to cooperate directly with the association rather than establishing contacts with small farms.

The Ukrainian representative explained that the Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine has conducted survey of diary farm enterprises of Armenia to determine the main reserves of the country. In this context Sivov brought Georgia's example where after conduct of a similar survey representatives of Georgian diary farms visited Ukraine in order to get familiar with the experience and underwent specialized training and lectures. The Director of the Association considers that Armenia may also follow Georgia's example. "It will be more efficient if Armenian representatives visit Ukraine where we will demonstrate them our experience. Following Georgian delegation's 12 day visit Association of Milk Producers was founded in Georgia, which has already made positive changes increasing the productivity by 50%", he stated.

At the same time the expert thinks that in order to double the production there is no need in big investments, according to Sivov the solution is to conduct awareness promotion, after which to use for example concentrate feeding for the existing animals, without introducing modern technologies.

To note, the Forum "Innovation and Knowledge-Sharing in the Dairy Sector", organized by the EBRD with the support of the Armenia's Ministry of Agriculture, took place in Yerevan on 21 June at the American University of Armenia.  According to the study prepared by the EBRD, Armenia's dairy sector faces the following obstacles hindering the development: lack of highbred animals, lack of high quality feed, insufficient experience and knowledge of farmers, unfavorable market conditions and low quality standards.

EBRD has invested around 229 mln EUR for development of diary sector in the Caucasus region within the recent 4 years. In Armenia the bank invested 83 mln EUR for development of agricultural business (including diary production).

To recall, the National Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine unites over 500 enterprises of the sector. It was established in 2009 and coordinates the work of the companies and enterprises of the country's diary sector.