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HAILSTORM HIT FARMERS: "WE WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO FREEZE OUR LOAN PAYMENTS"
Narek Aleksanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/news/26571/hailstorm-hit-farmers-we-want-the-government-to-freeze-our-loan-payments.html
13:37, May 17, 2013
Representatives of 47 rural communities whose plantings were wiped out
in a recent hailstorm scoffed at government assistance proposals,
labelling them as insufficient and ill-targeted.
Yeghiazar Asmaryan, from the village of Pokr Armavir, told reporters
that his spring crop "had been levelled to the ground" and that the
government's offer of new seed would only result in a small harvest
come the fall.
"All we are asking is for the government to freeze our loan payments
so that we can get back on our feet and be able to pay them next year,
said Mr. Asmaryan.
Asatour Hayrapetyan, another Pokr Armavir resident, said he heard
nothing encouraging during a visit to the affected communities by the
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
"Most villagers have taken an average of 2-3 million AMD in loans from
the banks. The government argues that the lenders are private banks
and that it can do nothing. Such an approach can only encourage
further migration from the country," said Mr. Hayrapetyan, adding that
it will take three years for his grapevines to recoup and that he
doesn't know how his family will survive in the interim.
"A few weeks ago you could say we were socially protected. Today,
practically all of us are socially unprotected," said Pokr Aravir
resident Srapion Nazaryan.
Nareh Grigoryan, a representative of the "Movement to Assist Residents
of Armavir", told reporters that for the past week local farmers have
been voicing their pain while the government is still tallying the
damage.
"There's a wise adage that says if the spring sun doesn't warm me,
there is no need for the autumn sun," Asatour Hayrapetyan noted.
Photo left to right - Yeghiazar Asmaryan, Asatour Hayrapetyan, Nareh
Grigoryan, Srapion Nazaryan
From: Baghdasarian
Narek Aleksanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/news/26571/hailstorm-hit-farmers-we-want-the-government-to-freeze-our-loan-payments.html
13:37, May 17, 2013
Representatives of 47 rural communities whose plantings were wiped out
in a recent hailstorm scoffed at government assistance proposals,
labelling them as insufficient and ill-targeted.
Yeghiazar Asmaryan, from the village of Pokr Armavir, told reporters
that his spring crop "had been levelled to the ground" and that the
government's offer of new seed would only result in a small harvest
come the fall.
"All we are asking is for the government to freeze our loan payments
so that we can get back on our feet and be able to pay them next year,
said Mr. Asmaryan.
Asatour Hayrapetyan, another Pokr Armavir resident, said he heard
nothing encouraging during a visit to the affected communities by the
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
"Most villagers have taken an average of 2-3 million AMD in loans from
the banks. The government argues that the lenders are private banks
and that it can do nothing. Such an approach can only encourage
further migration from the country," said Mr. Hayrapetyan, adding that
it will take three years for his grapevines to recoup and that he
doesn't know how his family will survive in the interim.
"A few weeks ago you could say we were socially protected. Today,
practically all of us are socially unprotected," said Pokr Aravir
resident Srapion Nazaryan.
Nareh Grigoryan, a representative of the "Movement to Assist Residents
of Armavir", told reporters that for the past week local farmers have
been voicing their pain while the government is still tallying the
damage.
"There's a wise adage that says if the spring sun doesn't warm me,
there is no need for the autumn sun," Asatour Hayrapetyan noted.
Photo left to right - Yeghiazar Asmaryan, Asatour Hayrapetyan, Nareh
Grigoryan, Srapion Nazaryan
From: Baghdasarian