The 2020 agricultural season`s results presented to Prime Minister of  Armenia 

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a consultation on the 2020 agricultural season's results and the activities projected for 2021.

Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan reported that according to  data available from the Statistics Committee, GDP grew by 1.4% in the  agricultural sector in 2020. 2.3% growth was recorded in crop  production and 0.6% growth - in livestock. 228,000 hectares of arable  land were cultivated, with some 155,000 plots of irrigated land.  Among the state-supported programs, the leasing program gained strong  momentum in 2020, under which 295 units of agricultural machinery  were acquired, while the number of beneficiaries almost doubled.

Tangible growth has been registered in the program of intensive  orchards. The volume of intensive orchards increased 10-fold to 518.6  hectares in 2020 as compared to 53.2 hectares cultivated in 2019. The  number of beneficiaries increased from 17 to 53.  According to the  Deputy Minister, considering the ever-growing interest in the  program, the Ministry plans to introduce a systemic approach in 2021,  which will feature a training component. Short-term and long-term  farming courses will be held at the Agrarian University of Armenia.

A rural insurance program was implemented in 6 regions, covering 2  crops. In 2021, the program shall be implemented nationwide, covering  a total of 11 crops. The pedigree cattle breeding program proved  quite effective last year. It was facilitated by the UNDP- supported  Sustainable Communities program and the Miasin project, implemented  in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of  Armenia. The project implies construction of "smart" livestock  buildings.

20 smart livestock buildings were built and 35 contracts were signed  in 2020. The project is being implemented in the border settlements  of Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor Marzes. It will be implemented in  Syunik Marz from February 15. Animal vaccination activities and  preparations for the planned stock-taking campaign are underway.

With reference to purveying and procurements, the Deputy Minister  noted that 98,000 tons of fruit and vegetables were procured in 2020,  which is 11,000 tons more than the previous year's procurements.  Mapping of grape plantations has been carried out on the way to  setting up a vineyards register; these activities will continue this  year in order to expand the geographic coverage.

To propel the exports of Armenian wines, a cargo storage hub and an  online platform will be established in Berlin, through which Armenian  wines shall be available across the European continent. Efforts are  underway to this end.

Legislative reforms have been made in the field of brandy production.  Talks are currently underway with the management of a chain of three  Russian supermarkets to support the processing and export sectors,  set up a representative office, a logistics center in Armenia, as  well as to organize direct exports of local products to Russian  supermarkets.

Under a World Bank-backed lending program, relevant contracts have  been signed with 57 processing companies to upgrade their production  facilities and introduce food safety systems. As for the  state-subsidized agricultural credits, the number of loans has  increased more than 4 times in 2020 as compared to 2019. The loan  portfolio has almost doubled in volume.

The Premier was next informed about the 2020 results and the upcoming  projects in the field of pasture management and infrastructure  development. Mediating WB loans, a veterinary service center was  built in Hrazdan, Kotayk Marz. The auditorium of the Faculty of  Animal Husbandry of the Agrarian University was supplied with modern  equipment, and the construction of pasture irrigation systems was  completed in 8 communities.

By this yearend a veterinary service center will be set up in  Tumanyan community of Lori Marz; pasture irrigation systems will be  built in 11 communities; livestock pools will be built in 70  communities, which will be used to take stock of and vaccinate  animals.

The Deputy Minister noted that the state-supported agricultural  programs will be continued in 2021.A program of state assistance for  the production of spring grains, legumes and forage crops will be  presented in the near future.

Prime Minister Pashinyan hailed the positive dynamics and called for  consistent implementation of effective programs, noting that no  strategic support program should be left outside the state assistance  framework.

The Premier next inquired about the current situation in the field of  water use. Reference was made to the water supply system reform and  the management of debts accumulated by water users. Issues of  improving the system's profitability were discussed during the  meeting.

The Prime Minister instructed to explore different options for  improving accuracy in the planning of water use, minimizing water  losses, finding systemic solutions to the problem of arrears and  submit finalized proposals for further discussion.

It should be noted that according to the Statistical Committee of the  Republic of Armenia, the gross agricultural product of Armenia,  taking into account fish farming, amounted to 850.1 billion drams,  which is 1.5% higher than a year ago. Agriculture alone amounted to  819.3 billion drams, with an increase of 1.4% per year, of which  383.8 billion drams fell on crop production (an annual increase of  2.3%), 435.5 billion drams for livestock (an annual increase of 0,  6%), and 30.7 billion drams - fish farming (growth by 4.4% per annum)