FAO launches projects in Armenia to advance dairy, agriculture sectors

With a signing ceremony and press conference today in Yerevan, FAO launched a new project to make substantial improvements to dairy operations in the Republic of Armenia.

Also today, FAO introduced a unique platform for uniting donors working to improve the country’s agriculture sector.

Dairy-sector improvements

The overall goal of the dairy project in Armenia is to enhance the productivity of the dairy sector, via improved feed resources, and to support dairy processing, via better-targeted investments.

Several major projects in recent years have addressed issues in the Armenian dairy sector, but this will be the first to address strategic development of the value chain from top to bottom. Components include the development of an economic model to demonstrate the value of improved feeding, milk production and processing and to estimate the maximum capacity of the dairy sector in terms of self-sufficiency and exporting potential.

The project, “Improving Feed Supply and Enhancing Processing in the Armenian Dairy Sector,” is in line with FAO’s strategic objectives and mandate, which include helping to eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

The project’s signing ceremony was held on 4 April 2018 between FAO and the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Agriculture. During the press conference, Minister of Agriculture Ignati Arakelyan responded to media questions alongside Raimund Jehle, the FAO Representative in Armenia.

Platform for agricultural donors

The new Development Coordination Framework Platform, developed within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development, or ENPARD, is unique in its kind and does not have analogs in the country. The European Union-funded project is implemented by FAO.

It is a platform for donors active in Armenia, bringing together all actors in agricultural sector and giving them an opportunity to present their agencies, current and past projects, publications, and more. This will help ensure both transparency and visibility in the field, and it will be a good precedent for donors in other sectors of economy, as well.
The platform is accessible by the general public, in both English and Armenian, at http://dcf.am.

Yerevan, Armenia, 4 April 2018