RA Ministry of Agriculture intends to continue and expand scope of cooperation with FAO

ArmInfo. The Armenian Ministry  of Agriculture intends to continue expanding and deepening  cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United  Nations (FAO). Minister of Agriculture Artur Khachatryan stated this  during the meeting with FAO representatives, giving importance to the  assistance provided by the FAO in implementing programs in the  agricultural sector of Armenia.

According to the press service of the department, the parties met to  discuss prospects for cooperation.  The meeting participants  considered the possibilities of increasing the effectiveness of  programs, further areas of cooperation, and also discussed a number  of other issues of mutual interest.

"Given that in some areas the lion's share of production - about  90-95% falls on small farms, it is logical that there is a need to  involve them in politics. In addition, small farms should be included  in cooperatives, which are of great importance both from the point of  view of protection of interests, and with regard to the application  of a unified approach to the pricing of agricultural products,"   Khachatryan noted.

In turn, the assistant to the FAO representative in Armenia Gayane  Nasoyan presented the program proposals for 2016-2020. Particular  attention was paid to programs aimed at preserving the genetic  resources of grapes, increasing the resistance of grapes to the  phylloxera, effective water use in the field of fish farming,  processing and supply of dairy products,

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Armen Harutyunyan, FAO experts and  other officials of the department took part in the discussions.

According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, the volume  of agricultural production in 2017 showed a decline of 3% to 907  billion AMD.