ArmInfo. In Yerevan, November 8, the "Agroforum" was opened, dedicated to the development of agriculture and industrial processing of agricultural products. "Armenia is aimed at increasing the productivity of the agrosphere, since it has all the necessary conditions for this," Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan said at the opening of the event. According to the press service of the government, Karen Karapetyan noted that agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the country's economy, which provides employment and, accordingly, income for residents of rural settlements. In addition, the development of the agricultural sector will increase the volume of exports and lead to sustainable macroeconomic development of the republic.
According to the Prime Minister, at present in Armenia there is an opportunity to provide a high level of productivity in the sphere, which can be visited by introducing modern technologies, developing high-value crops, implementing the import substitution process, increasing geography and export volumes and creating comfortable conditions for agricultural entrepreneurs.
The Armenian government, as he noted, pays special attention to ensuring the state's safety. According to head of the Cabinet of Ministers, today assessing the situation in the country objectively, it is necessary to state that there are numerous difficulties on the way of agricultural development that should be solved. This is also the solution of the issues of stable irrigation of farmland, the zoning of agricultural lands that have not been used, and the increase in the scope of the sphere. The prime minister also stressed that the government's current steps are aimed at creating a solid foundation for the sphere and new opportunities in the context of developing a competitive, lucrative and stably developing agrosphere. To this end, as Karen Karapetyan pointed out, a number of state support programs have already been specified, aimed at creating intensive gardens, acquiring agricultural machinery, introducing drip irrigation. "I am sure that Armenia has great potential in the sphere, we will not have problems with the sales markets if we produce high-quality products," he said.
Recall, on September 22 at the meeting of the Government of Armenia Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said that the statistics in the field of agriculture are very worried. "We need to carefully study the reasons for the decline in agriculture in Armenia in the first 8 months of 2017," he said. "In the context of August- August and January-August, in comparison with the same period of the previous year, growth was recorded in all spheres, except for agriculture and construction," Karen Karapetyan said. The head of the Cabinet instructed the ministers of agriculture, territorial administration and development, as well as the governors of the regions and the head of the National Statistical Service, to summarize and submit to the government apparatus information on the indicators registered in the field of agriculture and the reasons for the decline observed.
Despite the fact that in Armenia in January-September 2017, economic activity accelerated from 1.6% to 5.1% in the same period of 2016, the agricultural sector and the construction sector continue to show an annual decline - by 9.9% and 6% respectively ,4%. On an annual basis (September 2017, by September 2016), the only recession was recorded in the agricultural sector - by 11.6%, while other areas showed growth.