ArmInfo. Armenian Ministry of Agriculture is launching a new program for the development of seed production and the production of local seeds. This was announced at a press conference by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Garnik Petrosyan.He noted that over the past 10 years, the demand for seeds has been met by imported products, which are several times more expensive than if the seeds were produced locally.
"The imported seeds did not justify themselves, and, of course, it was impossible to continue to be in such dependence," he stressed. In particular, in this vein, he referred to requests from rural administrations for the purchase of a large tonnage of grain seeds in 2017, which was carried out, but due to non-use, it became unsuitable even as fodder.
As a result, according to the deputy minister, it was decided to launch a new program, thanks to which until 2023, it will be possible to satisfy the demand at the expense of local seeds. In particular, he said that 4 nurseries had already been created for the first year of the program in different regions of the country - the South, the Center and in the Zangezur region.
Answering the question of ArmInfo, G. Petrosyan explained that the program provides for the selection of typical ears in the nursery. In particular, the ears will go through, and as a result, atypical ones that are accidentally caught will be thrown away. The next year the work will be repeated - each plot will be checked several times by people for the absence of atypical varieties and impurities. As a result, it will be possible to obtain highly productive and high-quality products.