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AGRICULTURE: SPECIALIST SAYS DESPITE HAIL AND DROUGHT THIS YEAR IS MORE PRODUCTIVE COMPARING TO LAST YEAR
Hrach Berberyan
ArmeniaNow
23.09.11 | 15:29
By Gohar Abrahamyan
Hrach Berberyan, president of Agrarian-Rural Union of Armenia NGO,
met the media today and spoke about this year's harvest and assessed
it as a generally good year as compared to 2010, despite hail and
lengthy droughts.
Territories lacking irrigation suffered loss of wheat crops; however
the new elite seeds sown in soil where proper irrigation was available
(five percent of total arable lands) gave around four to six-ton yield.
Although Berberyan appreciates the government-initiated measure of
importing high quality grain seeds, he believes that some prior sample
experiments would have been due.
"These grain varieties might give good yield this year, but prove
unable to adjust to our climatic conditions, so it would make sense to
select the best for our climate among the imported 1,000 grain seed
varieties," says Berberyan, adding that wheat crops will be rich in
the coming years due to renewal of seeds.
As compared to last year, this also saw a rich apricot harvest.
"Some 24-25,000 tons of apricots were harvested this year in Armenia,
20,000 of which from Ararat region only," says Berberyan. Last year's
total harvest did not exceed 20,000 tones.
Reflecting on grape crops, Berberyan said that this year's grapes
are inferior quality.
"We expected a good grape harvest in summer; however we are now dealing
with mass grape diseases and will harvest only some 150-160 thousand
tons of grapes."
According to Berberyan, the market prices have been largely affected
by increased cost of diesel fuel and fertilizers.
"Despite the agriculture ministry's statement early this year that the
prices for fertilizers would drop for 20 percent, they have instead
increased for 30," says Berberyan.
From: A. Papazian
Hrach Berberyan
ArmeniaNow
23.09.11 | 15:29
By Gohar Abrahamyan
Hrach Berberyan, president of Agrarian-Rural Union of Armenia NGO,
met the media today and spoke about this year's harvest and assessed
it as a generally good year as compared to 2010, despite hail and
lengthy droughts.
Territories lacking irrigation suffered loss of wheat crops; however
the new elite seeds sown in soil where proper irrigation was available
(five percent of total arable lands) gave around four to six-ton yield.
Although Berberyan appreciates the government-initiated measure of
importing high quality grain seeds, he believes that some prior sample
experiments would have been due.
"These grain varieties might give good yield this year, but prove
unable to adjust to our climatic conditions, so it would make sense to
select the best for our climate among the imported 1,000 grain seed
varieties," says Berberyan, adding that wheat crops will be rich in
the coming years due to renewal of seeds.
As compared to last year, this also saw a rich apricot harvest.
"Some 24-25,000 tons of apricots were harvested this year in Armenia,
20,000 of which from Ararat region only," says Berberyan. Last year's
total harvest did not exceed 20,000 tones.
Reflecting on grape crops, Berberyan said that this year's grapes
are inferior quality.
"We expected a good grape harvest in summer; however we are now dealing
with mass grape diseases and will harvest only some 150-160 thousand
tons of grapes."
According to Berberyan, the market prices have been largely affected
by increased cost of diesel fuel and fertilizers.
"Despite the agriculture ministry's statement early this year that the
prices for fertilizers would drop for 20 percent, they have instead
increased for 30," says Berberyan.
From: A. Papazian