ArmInfo. The sphere of dairy production in Armenia will receive a new impulse of development. Agriculture Minister Ignaty Arakelyan and FAO (Food and Agriculture Program of the United Nations) Raymond Yele signed an agreement providing food security for the development of animal husbandry and raising the productivity of the dairy industry in Armenia.
According to the Minister, the program provides technical assistance from the FAO in the development of a methodology for improving the efficiency of animal feed and milk processing. "Numerous studies will be carried out within the framework of the program, which will serve as the basis for developing a strategy for raising the level of production, obtaining high-quality products, efficient use of pastures and meadows, and developing veterinary medicine," Arakelyan explained. He recalled that in Soviet times the number of cattle in the country was twice as high as today's figures. The average milk yield per cow in Armenia is about 2.2 thousand kg, which is much lower than in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other CIS countries, "he said. Arakelyan stressed that high prices for dairy products are due to low efficiency of production. On average, 758,000 tons of milk is received annually in Armenia. The issue of improving the quality of milk is also acute, while the demand for quality milk is growing.
In turn, Raymond Yele noted that the program is of key importance for the development of the agrosphere as a whole. He stressed that according to research conducted in 2016, it was revealed that 80% of the milk consumed in Armenia falls to the share of local producers.