Tweet
Agricultural Expert: Armenia's Hail Cannons Ineffective and Outdated
Narek Aleksanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/news/26681/agricultural-expert-armenias-hail-cannons-ineffective-and-outdated.html
12:38, May 21, 2013
Hrach Berberyan, president of the Village Agrarian Union, told
reporters today that his organization estimates that recent hailstorms
caused $35-40 million worth of damage to some 17-20,000 hectares of
cropland in Armenia.
`Armenian villagers haven't been in such dire straits since
independence,' declared Berberyan, adding that the government is
obliged to financially compensate farmers and not just provide free
seed or fertilizer.
Berberyan says that hail cannons imported from Argentina eight years
ago were switched over to a propane-butane operating system that while
cheaper, was less effective than the original acetylene. He compared
it to using diesel over premium gasoline.
The expert added that the locations chosen for the hail cannons were
poorly chosen and oftentimes those communities with close ties to
government officials won out.
Berberyan suggested that a defensive perimeter of anti-hail stations
be set up along Armenia's western border to as a first line of defense
against weather patterns from the Mediterranean that cause the hail.
He also said that Europe had long since stopped using the acetylene
hail cannonsin favour of comprehensive networks in defense against
hail and frost conditions.
From: Baghdasarian
Narek Aleksanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/news/26681/agricultural-expert-armenias-hail-cannons-ineffective-and-outdated.html
12:38, May 21, 2013
Hrach Berberyan, president of the Village Agrarian Union, told
reporters today that his organization estimates that recent hailstorms
caused $35-40 million worth of damage to some 17-20,000 hectares of
cropland in Armenia.
`Armenian villagers haven't been in such dire straits since
independence,' declared Berberyan, adding that the government is
obliged to financially compensate farmers and not just provide free
seed or fertilizer.
Berberyan says that hail cannons imported from Argentina eight years
ago were switched over to a propane-butane operating system that while
cheaper, was less effective than the original acetylene. He compared
it to using diesel over premium gasoline.
The expert added that the locations chosen for the hail cannons were
poorly chosen and oftentimes those communities with close ties to
government officials won out.
Berberyan suggested that a defensive perimeter of anti-hail stations
be set up along Armenia's western border to as a first line of defense
against weather patterns from the Mediterranean that cause the hail.
He also said that Europe had long since stopped using the acetylene
hail cannonsin favour of comprehensive networks in defense against
hail and frost conditions.
From: Baghdasarian