ArmInfo. Interest in participating in the state program to promote livestock development and the construction of SMART farms exceeded expectations. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Gabrielyan stated this during a press conference on May 13. In particular, he noted that under the state program of subsidizing interest rates on agricultural loans to the livestock sector for 2019-2024. 372 farmers and 11 financial structures (5 banks and 6 credit companies) showed interest.
The program, according to T. Gabrielyan, provides for cheap loans at a 12% rate, of which 10% will be subsidized by the state, and the repayment period is set to 5 years. The maximum loan amount per farmer is 300 million drams. For farmers and co-operatives of border settlements, loans will be available at a 0% interest rate. Within the program, it is planned to purchase about 10 thousand heads of pedigree livestock, which will increase gross livestock production by 25 billion drams.Regarding the construction of SMART farms, the deputy minister noted that over 300 farmers expressed interest in participating in this program, and because they met the criteria, about 100 were approved. Syunik region.In particular, within the framework of SMART farms, villagers will be offered three models of building smart sheds - for 10-15 heads of livestock (cost 11 million drams); 20-25 heads (cost 22 million drams); 40-45 goals (cost 33 million drams). In these three cases, 50% of this amount is subsidized by the state, and for border areas and those receiving social assistance - 70% is subsidized.
Financing, according to the deputy minister, will be provided in two stages. "During the first year, when the farm will be built, the state will transfer 50% of the compensation, and the remaining amount will be credited after the technical equipment", he explained. In this case, the official stressed that the program provides for monitoring to ensure that farms are used for their intended purpose. According to the expert assessment of the Ministry of Agriculture, thanks to SMART farms in Armenia it will be possible to increase the productivity of cows and to get better quality milk, with a high content of proteins and fats. In addition, as T. Gabrieli noted, the program has an educational component: "<SMART> refers more to the farmer than to the farm itself. We plan to give lectures for farmers at the Agrarian University, which will prompt them to effective approaches to feeding livestock rational feeding of dairy cattle, proper use of feed, etc. "According to Levon Ter-Isahakyan, head of the livestock and veterinary department of the RA Ministry of Agriculture, it was not by chance that livestock development was chosen for the implementation of state programs. The sphere, he said, provides 50% of gross agricultural production, or more than 470 billion drams, of which 280 billion drams fall to the share of cattle breeding."
The developed programs will contribute to more intensive development of the sphere, improving the quality of production, increasing productivity, stimulating the use of innovative technologies," L. Ter- Isaakyan said.According to the RA Statistical Committee, gross agricultural output in 2018 decreased by 3.7% to 926.4 billion drams. At the same time, gross livestock production was 478 billion drams, which is 2.8% less than a year ago