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ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES FARM CONSOLIDATION CONCEPT
/ARKA/
NOVEMBER 3, 2011
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, November 3. / ARKA /. The Armenian government approved today a
farmland consolidation concept. Agriculture minister Sergo Karapetyan
said the concept is in tune with the strategy of sustainable rural
development designed for 2010-2020.
According to him, the efficiency of agricultural production is
limited due to small sizes of farms (340,000) and the fragmentation
of land (1.2 million land parcels)."The main goal of the concept
is to address the process of consolidation of farm land, increase
the investment attractiveness of the sector and create favorable
conditions for improving the competitiveness of exporters and large
trade organizations," said the minister.
"The basis of two government-designed programs is based on
the principle of stimulating cooperation; the first program on
competitiveness and management is aimed at the establishment of
associations for the use of pastures. They have been created in 35
communities already. The second program backed by a Japanese grant,
provides for the purchase of tractors for the cooperatives," he said.
The minister said a pilot project was implemented in 2006 in Kotayk
province. As a result an average farm size increased from 0.55 ha to
1.93 ha. Karapetyan said that the entire process of land consolidation
is divided into three phases: in the first, two-year stage, a legal
framework and conditions for the promotion of land consolidation
will be created, the second three-year phase will focus on voluntary
land consolidation and the third, five-years stage, will focus on
establishment of small and medium enterprises and their technical
equipment. Armenia has 470,000 ha of sown area, of which only 71%
is used for sowing and 130 thousand hectares of arable land are not
cultivated.
/ARKA/
NOVEMBER 3, 2011
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, November 3. / ARKA /. The Armenian government approved today a
farmland consolidation concept. Agriculture minister Sergo Karapetyan
said the concept is in tune with the strategy of sustainable rural
development designed for 2010-2020.
According to him, the efficiency of agricultural production is
limited due to small sizes of farms (340,000) and the fragmentation
of land (1.2 million land parcels)."The main goal of the concept
is to address the process of consolidation of farm land, increase
the investment attractiveness of the sector and create favorable
conditions for improving the competitiveness of exporters and large
trade organizations," said the minister.
"The basis of two government-designed programs is based on
the principle of stimulating cooperation; the first program on
competitiveness and management is aimed at the establishment of
associations for the use of pastures. They have been created in 35
communities already. The second program backed by a Japanese grant,
provides for the purchase of tractors for the cooperatives," he said.
The minister said a pilot project was implemented in 2006 in Kotayk
province. As a result an average farm size increased from 0.55 ha to
1.93 ha. Karapetyan said that the entire process of land consolidation
is divided into three phases: in the first, two-year stage, a legal
framework and conditions for the promotion of land consolidation
will be created, the second three-year phase will focus on voluntary
land consolidation and the third, five-years stage, will focus on
establishment of small and medium enterprises and their technical
equipment. Armenia has 470,000 ha of sown area, of which only 71%
is used for sowing and 130 thousand hectares of arable land are not
cultivated.