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Jan 16 2015
AgCenter Project Teaches Food Safety in Armenia
BATON ROUGE, La. - An LSU AgCenter project that teaches Armenians
about food safety could help more producers and processors in the
Eurasian country get certifications that will help them expand global
trade.
David Picha, director of AgCenter International Programs, said the
AgCenter has been involved in the project for several years. Armenian
agriculture has great potential but needs significant improvement, he
told attendees at the Global Agriculture Hour on Jan. 13.
Aging infrastructure and a low level of education mean most food
processors in Armenia, a former republic of the Soviet Union, do not
comply with international food safety standards, Picha said. That
confines most of Armenia's trade of agricultural products to Russia.
About a dozen AgCenter faculty members have traveled to Armenia in the
past decade to provide training in two major food safety certification
programs: GlobalGAP, which the European Union requires, and Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Points. They also are teaching Armenian
producers and processors about rules in the forthcoming U.S. Food
Safety Modernization Act, which imposes new requirements for imported
foods.
The National Center for Biomedical Research and Training at LSU and
the Southern University Ag Center also participate in the project.
The AgCenter's work in Armenia is done through the Center for
Agribusiness and Rural Development, an Armenian foundation mostly
funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. CARD is a farm service
center, Picha said, that provides farmers with much-needed technical
information, financing, supplies and equipment.
Armenia is a poor country, with about 36 percent of its population
living below the poverty line. Three million people live in Armenia;
one million live in the capital, Yerevan.
Armenia became independent in 1991, but the transition from being part
of the Soviet Union to being an independent country was difficult. The
gross domestic product fell 60 percent between 1989 and 1992, Picha
said.
There was an "overnight shock" in the agriculture sector when the
Soviet Union collapsed, Picha said. The Soviets grew fruits and
vegetables on large collective farms in Armenia, processed them in
local factories, sent them to Moscow and distributed them throughout
the Eastern Bloc. When the USSR ceased to exist, so did Armenia's
markets for agricultural products.
Agriculture is still important in Armenia, however, making up 19.2
percent of its GDP. About 40 percent of jobs are in agriculture. But
the sector is not globally competitive.
"Much of the agricultural production in Armenia is still for
consumption at home," Picha said. "It's not processed or exported.
It's much like our country was 60 or 70 years ago on rural family
farms."
In Armenia, about 340,000 family farms average around one acre in
size, Picha said. Potatoes, other vegetables and tree fruits are key
crops. Families often also raise chickens for eggs and a couple of
cows for meat and milk.
Wine, cognac and cheeses are Armenia's major agricultural exports,
which mostly go to Russia. Armenia's borders with Turkey and
Azerbaijan are closed, which restricts trade even further. Gradually,
however, Armenia is exporting to more countries, including the U.S.,
Picha said.
Armenia faces a challenging future. Agriculture is mostly done using
old machinery and outdated production practices, and food processing
plants rarely meet certification requirements for international trade.
For example, apricots are an important crop in Armenia, but yields
there can be one-half to one-third lower than other countries produce,
Picha said. No breeding program provides farmers with new varieties to
replace Soviet-era planting stock. Armenia also has only one
agricultural research university that conducts limited outreach work,
so farmers are often unaware of modern cultural and pest management
practices.
The aging Soviet-era factories where foods are processed have outdated
equipment and technology, lack cold storage and are energy
inefficient, Picha said. Those problems prevent most Armenian
processors from exporting their products to the EU and U.S.
The Armenian government has made a strategic plan for agriculture that
prioritizes improvements to food processing, Picha said.
"Armenia was a leader in that area in the Soviet days," he said. "They
want to try to recapture that in today's global market."
http://www.myarklamiss.com/story/d/story/agcenter-project-teaches-food-safety-in-armenia/11023/t4ioyRzxO0GAp3lnZc-tTA
Jan 16 2015
AgCenter Project Teaches Food Safety in Armenia
BATON ROUGE, La. - An LSU AgCenter project that teaches Armenians
about food safety could help more producers and processors in the
Eurasian country get certifications that will help them expand global
trade.
David Picha, director of AgCenter International Programs, said the
AgCenter has been involved in the project for several years. Armenian
agriculture has great potential but needs significant improvement, he
told attendees at the Global Agriculture Hour on Jan. 13.
Aging infrastructure and a low level of education mean most food
processors in Armenia, a former republic of the Soviet Union, do not
comply with international food safety standards, Picha said. That
confines most of Armenia's trade of agricultural products to Russia.
About a dozen AgCenter faculty members have traveled to Armenia in the
past decade to provide training in two major food safety certification
programs: GlobalGAP, which the European Union requires, and Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Points. They also are teaching Armenian
producers and processors about rules in the forthcoming U.S. Food
Safety Modernization Act, which imposes new requirements for imported
foods.
The National Center for Biomedical Research and Training at LSU and
the Southern University Ag Center also participate in the project.
The AgCenter's work in Armenia is done through the Center for
Agribusiness and Rural Development, an Armenian foundation mostly
funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. CARD is a farm service
center, Picha said, that provides farmers with much-needed technical
information, financing, supplies and equipment.
Armenia is a poor country, with about 36 percent of its population
living below the poverty line. Three million people live in Armenia;
one million live in the capital, Yerevan.
Armenia became independent in 1991, but the transition from being part
of the Soviet Union to being an independent country was difficult. The
gross domestic product fell 60 percent between 1989 and 1992, Picha
said.
There was an "overnight shock" in the agriculture sector when the
Soviet Union collapsed, Picha said. The Soviets grew fruits and
vegetables on large collective farms in Armenia, processed them in
local factories, sent them to Moscow and distributed them throughout
the Eastern Bloc. When the USSR ceased to exist, so did Armenia's
markets for agricultural products.
Agriculture is still important in Armenia, however, making up 19.2
percent of its GDP. About 40 percent of jobs are in agriculture. But
the sector is not globally competitive.
"Much of the agricultural production in Armenia is still for
consumption at home," Picha said. "It's not processed or exported.
It's much like our country was 60 or 70 years ago on rural family
farms."
In Armenia, about 340,000 family farms average around one acre in
size, Picha said. Potatoes, other vegetables and tree fruits are key
crops. Families often also raise chickens for eggs and a couple of
cows for meat and milk.
Wine, cognac and cheeses are Armenia's major agricultural exports,
which mostly go to Russia. Armenia's borders with Turkey and
Azerbaijan are closed, which restricts trade even further. Gradually,
however, Armenia is exporting to more countries, including the U.S.,
Picha said.
Armenia faces a challenging future. Agriculture is mostly done using
old machinery and outdated production practices, and food processing
plants rarely meet certification requirements for international trade.
For example, apricots are an important crop in Armenia, but yields
there can be one-half to one-third lower than other countries produce,
Picha said. No breeding program provides farmers with new varieties to
replace Soviet-era planting stock. Armenia also has only one
agricultural research university that conducts limited outreach work,
so farmers are often unaware of modern cultural and pest management
practices.
The aging Soviet-era factories where foods are processed have outdated
equipment and technology, lack cold storage and are energy
inefficient, Picha said. Those problems prevent most Armenian
processors from exporting their products to the EU and U.S.
The Armenian government has made a strategic plan for agriculture that
prioritizes improvements to food processing, Picha said.
"Armenia was a leader in that area in the Soviet days," he said. "They
want to try to recapture that in today's global market."
http://www.myarklamiss.com/story/d/story/agcenter-project-teaches-food-safety-in-armenia/11023/t4ioyRzxO0GAp3lnZc-tTA