>From Seeds of Hope to Seeds of Prosperity
Friday, December 19th, 2014
Mkhitar Grigoryan, ATG Chief Agronomist, inspects crops in Armenia
YEREVAN–Gagik Lazarian, the Armenian Technology Group’s (ATG) long
time in-country director continues to have his impact in the grain
industry in Armenia. Recently he was invited to attend the latest
conference organized by the Ministry of Agriculture on the weekend of
December 5, 2014 in Dilijan, Armenia. The conference studied the
agricultural regulations and laws that apply to the grain industry in
Armenia, and their impact on the farm level.
When the founding fathers of ATG had established this organization in
1989, their goals never included short term solutions or handouts.
Their primary goal was to give the impoverished people of rural
Armenia the freedom and power that come with self-sustaining
independent work. The wheat seed is only one of the programs that the
group has carried out with pride and honor while serving the people of
Armenia for the past 25 years.
It all started with our experts from the United States introducing and
planting a number of wheat and alfalfa seeds varieties on trial plots
in 1992 in Spitak, Armenia. Using the applied science methodology, our
scientists, former UC extension agents, have selected the most
suitable seed verities for each of the seven growing zones in Armenia.
Over the years we continued the research in this field and supplied
the farmers with the highest quality seed varieties, and have provided
them the proper knowledge and training, which not only help feed the
people of Armenia but also aided Armenia’s rural economic development.
Earlier this year the farmers were invited to the annual pre harvest
field demonstration that ATG foundation has been holding for the past
20 years. The seminar provides the opportunity to the grain growers to
learn about the latest seed available to plant for each specific
region of Armenia. The guests included one of ATG’s long time
cooperating farmers Vachik Adamyan from Artsakh. The purpose of his
visit, as in the past, was to select new seed varieties for his
fields.
Throughout the years, the Armenian Technology Group continued to
introduce the latest and most innovative agricultural methodology and
machinery. The group introduced and manufactured two generations of
lends levelers in Armenia in the 1990’s and the No-Till farming
technology in 2007, which significantly increased the yield volume,
while decreasing the farmers’ production costs by 65%. ATG has been
active in every region of Armenia, where they have organized over 380
seminars and field demonstrations. The ATG offices in Armenia provide
educational materials about the correct seed types and use of farm
inputs, along with safety procedures that have to be followed during
application.
“We are pleased that Gagik and his team have been able to administer
our operations in Armenia effectively,” said Varoujan Der Simonian,
Executive Director of ATG. “The Board of Directors are pleased that
their objective of transferring the management of our activities to a
local team has been realized.”
The ATG continues to provide its services to the wheat growing
farmers, by cleaning and processing their harvest. This service
insures that we continue to segregate specific seed varieties from
each other, and maintain the highest quality standard of each seed
growing generation.
The seed multiplication program started with the financial support of
US Government and the Armenian-American communities. Through the
support of private sectors’ contributions, ATG is also involved in
other agricultural development projects to help the people of Armenia.
ATG is a 501 (c)3 charitable organization. Voluntary contributions are
highly appreciated. Contributors can mail their tax-deductible
donations to ATG at P. O. Box 5969 Fresno CA 93755.
From: Baghdasarian