In cooperation with Russia, Armenian Agriculture Ministry intends to  introduce innovative tools for statistical information processing 

ArmInfo. In cooperation with the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia intends to introduce innovative methods for processing statistical  information of the agro-industrial complex, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Armenia Armen Harutyunyan stated during the plenary session on June 29 at the 7th Russian-Armenian Interregional Forum. 

Answering the question by ArmInfo, he noted that the modernization of  existing methods of collecting and processing data on agricultural  statistics implies the creation of a land monitoring system using  digital technologies. "This will allow making better decisions for  efficient development of the agro-industrial complex," the Deputy  Minister stressed. According to him, the issue of access and  introduction of technologies in agriculture is one of the priority  areas of cooperation with Russian partners. <Worldwide, agriculture  is dynamically transformed with active development of competition.  And if nothing is done and the same old methods , tools and knowledge  are applied, there will be no progress, " Harutyunyan noted.

In addition, during his speech, the Deputy Minister outlined the main  directions of development of agriculture and agro-industrial complex  of Armenia. First and foremost, Harutyunyan mentioned the development  of infrastructures, continious work to improve human capital in terms  of higher and technical education and advisory service. "Today with  our counterparts from the Ministry of Education we are carrying out  reforms in the field of agrarian education, in particular technical  education. Here, in the main, our efforts are focused on ensuring  that students spend at least 50-60% of their time, not in classrooms,  but on the field, what is being done to enrich their practical  experience before they start directly  activities in the agrosphere,  he explained. Together with that, the agency is working to improve  the quality of advisory services, which are represented in all areas  of the country, but do not yet meet all the needs of farms.

The next group of activities according to Harutyunyan relate to the  availability of financial resources. The Deputy Minister noted that  today the state policy is aimed at improving the conditions for  financing agriculture and agro-industrial complex. In this regard, he  recalled the introduction of the system of agricultural insurance,  which will be launched in Armenia in 2019. No less important task in  Deputy Ministre's opinion is the reduction of risks, but not only  through the launch of the insurance system, but also with the use of  instruments that generally protect agriculture.  A special emphasis  during the speech was put on the implementation of the policy of  import substitution. In this light, he noted the importance of  efficient cooperation between Armenian and Russian state agencies in  the matter of providing entrepreneurs with effective contacts for  fullfilling the unused potential and fill the unreached segments of  the markets.  To note, the 7th Russian-Armenian Interregional Forum  is held in Yerevan and is called "Digital initiatives of Russia and  Armenia in the framework of the implementation of the digital agenda  of the EEU." The forum is organized by the Ministry of Economic  Development of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the  Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development of the  Republic of Armenia.