FAO will allocate over $500 thousand to support livestock breeding of Armenia

ArmInfo. Armenia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will jointly develop the livestock sector in the Republic of Armenia, in particular, the Caucasian brown breed of cows.

On December 12 Minister of Agriculture Ignatiy Arakelyan and Regional Coordinator for Strategic Programs of the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia Raymond Yele signed a Memorandum on "Conservation and Development of Cattle of Dual-Purpose Cattle in Eastern Europe". "The program is important both from the point of view of development of animal husbandry and ensuring the country's food security," FAO representative Raymond Yele told reporters.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, as Ignaty Arakelyan pointed out, the development of animal husbandry in terms of animal genetics was interrupted in Armenia. "Today, the organization of livestock breeding is largely neglected, and each farmer develops livestock in the framework of his ideas and knowledge, and as a result we lost those species of cattle that were considered the most adapted to our locality," he said. According to Arakelyan, at present the genetic potential of the Caucasian brown breed is used unsatisfactorily. "Meanwhile, the Caucasian brown breed of cows is considered to be a cattle of a combined type, namely, the milk and meat direction of high productivity," he explained.

Nevertheless, experts are sure that Armenia's livestock breeding in this direction has great potential. Within the framework of the program with a budget of about $ 500 thousand, experts will choose the best among local breeds, analyze their diet, as well as possible productivity. "As a result of the program, we will have a ready-made concept for the development of double-purpose cattle in Armenia," Ignaty Arakelyan said.