Friday, July 23 2021 18:13

ArmInfo.Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held a consultative meeting to discuss the development programs implemented in agriculture. The press service of the Acting Prime Minister of Armenia reports.

Addressing the meeting, Nikol Pashinyan noted: "We are talking about  the programs aimed at providing financial support to farmers. We will  try to understand how well the programs are working and what we  should do to make them more targeted, affordable and efficient."

Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan reported progress in the  ongoing agricultural programs. In particular, the Deputy Minister  advised that the output of fruits, vegetables, canned food and fruit  juice had increased by 59% as compared to the same period last year.  116,930 tons of fruit and vegetables have already been exported. This  figure was less than twice in the same period last year. Arman  Khojoyan further noted that there are 14 development programs in the  field of agriculture, including leasing programs, horticulture and  irrigation, insurance, livestock breeding, winemaking, subsidized  loans, spring and winter wheat processing, etc.

With reference to the leasing program, the Deputy Minister said it  acts as an additional financial instrument in the financial market.  "The leasing tool is provided for agricultural machinery and  agro-processing equipment. We are pleased with the pace of this  program. It is also gratifying that the successful application of the  leasing tool allows us to set up professional associations, with  which we can make the program more purposefully through legislative  reforms," Mr. Khojoyan said and went on to note that the limit for  recycling equipment was stepped up to 1 billion from 450 million  drams.

Work is currently underway to incorporate the component of solar  photovoltaic stations in the leasing program, which will help reduce  production costs and increase competitiveness. The Deputy Minister  added that 100 units of agricultural machinery have already been  provided to the farms in the framework of international programs.  That figure is expected to increase by 200 units by this yearend.

The Deputy Minister expressed satisfaction with the current status of  extensive horticulture. 518.6 hectares of intensive orchards were  established in 2020, 350.7 hectares - in the first half of this year.  According to Mr. Khojoyan, the program as amended last year enabled  the farmers to build water pools in their orchards, which will ensure  uninterrupted supply of irrigation water. The program will be  complemented with the component of high added-value crops in 2022.

The process of agricultural insurance is gaining momentum. The number  of insurance contracts has tripled this year as compared to 2020.  Grain, apricot and apples top the list of the crops insured. New  crops will come to complement the program this year.

The Deputy Minister of Economy next referred to cattle, sheep  breeding, including the development of smart farms. In the framework  of a program funded by the World Bank and the Ministry of Economy,  pasture watering systems shall be introduced in 19 communities, 6  provinces. The program will cover 10 more communities this year.  Community sheds will be built in 50 communities.

Reference was also made to those measures aimed at promoting the  output of spring crops. Arman Khojoyan reported on the procurement of  grapes and other fruits. He said that they had already met with the  country's leading suppliers to discuss existing problems, the steps  to tackle them and the volume of state lending. The Deputy Minister  assured that the procurement process will be completed without  problems. Wine and brandy exports, as well as the steps to solve the  problems were discussed during the meeting.

Summing up the consultation, Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  stressed the importance of achieving increased productivity in the  field of agriculture and emphasized the need to ensure the efficiency  of the programs implemented by the government. Nikol Pashinyan told  those responsible to closely monitor the projects implemented by  program beneficiaries in order to assess and improve their  efficiency.