EFSE success stories. Yeghishe Gevorgyan: as a farmer, you are
dependent on Mother Nature
By 2009, Gevorgyan’s barn had 18 cows, 7 heifers and 22 calves, while
alfalfa production mainly covered his own needs.
Yeghishe Gevorgyan lives on the outskirts of Aragatsavan, a small
village in Aragatsotn province of Armenia, just a few miles from the
Turkish border. About a decade ago, he made a decision that changed
his life. `At one point, I said to myself: `Yeghishe, if you don’t do
something with this land, someone else will’,’ Gevorgyan recollects.
May 7, 2014
PanARMENIAN.Net – What started as a hope and a prayer nine years ago
has since matured into a respectable livestock enterprise.
`We took our family’s savings and signed a 25-year lease for 25
hectares of good land. We didn’t own any cattle then, but the farmers
around us did. They needed forage, so we grew alfalfa and sold it to
our neighbors. With the money we earned, we bought cattle,’ Gevorgyan
explains.
By 2009, his barn had 18 cows, 7 heifers and 22 calves, while alfalfa
production mainly covered his own needs.
`As a farmer, you are dependent on Mother Nature. It’s tough
sometimes, but it is what it is. My problem was that I was also
dependent on the village irrigation system,’ he says. `I discussed
this with the people at ACBA and in no time at all, we got started on
building a 1.1-kilometer waterline.’
The latest USD 22,000 loan enabled Gevorgyan to complete the
waterline. Besides reducing his dependence on the village irrigation
system, it also helps to conserve water, further curtailing costs.
Alfalfa production is up 100 per cent, too. Today, he has 50 cattle
and is looking to further expand and hire more help.
In November 2013, the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE)
successfully launched cooperation with ACBA Leasing Credit
Organization CJSC (ACBA Leasing) by providing a senior loan facility
dedicated to MSE financing in the equivalent of EUR 2.5 million. The
loan facility was aimed at supporting ACBA Leasing’s strategy to
facilitate access to credit for MSEs, including agricultural producers
and individual farmers, especially in the country’s rural areas.
ACBA Leasing Credit Organization CJSC is the first registered
specialized leasing company in Armenia. ACBA Leasing was founded on
March 30, 2003 by one of the leading institutions of the Armenian
banking sector, ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank, and the French Credit
Agricole Group, acting via its subsidiary Credit Agricole Leasing &
Factoring, considered the leader of the leasing and factoring market
in France.
The project is sponsored by the European Fund for Southeast Europe
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
