Agriculture not only feeds our people, but is one of the most important factors of our country’s national security. In today’s changeable and unpredictable world, no country can have a future without a stable, thoughtful agricultural strategy and developing agricultural production, this is presented on the “Offer to Armenia” Facebook page.

“The climatic conditions of Armenia allow to have and develop stable and multi-branch agriculture, and the state policy in this field should be one of our main priorities.

Gagik Tsarukyan

State policy in the field of agriculture of RA

1. Reopen the Ministry of Agriculture

2. To make the village not a source of survival, but a source of prosperous living and earning income. The work and activities of the peasant must be profitable.

3. To significantly improve the quality of rural life by enriching it with cultural, educational, health and other important components.

4. State investments are needed in the field of agriculture in order to reduce poverty and population outflow from villages.

5. RA agriculture requires a special state policy and cannot be considered as a normal branch of the market economy. It performs at least four important functions:

a. ensuring food security

b. employment regulation and poverty alleviation

c. balanced and sustainable development of territories

d. formation of raw material base for processing and export

6. It is necessary to develop complex development programs for all 10 regions of Armenia, taking into account the production and agricultural specialization formed since the Soviet years. At the same time, sectoral priorities for economic development should be defined, focusing on the creation of highly productive jobs, the introduction of high technologies and digital services, as well as the development of modern machine-tractor plants.

7. To create conditions in the regions for the farmer to sell the food profitably all year round, having secured markets and modern reception and procurement stations for agricultural products with packaging, refrigeration and storage infrastructures, ensuring reliable and efficient sales for the producer.

8. To create full conditions for increasing the efficiency of activities in rural communities, paying special attention to animal husbandry, the entire chain of milk and meat sales, the location of slaughterhouses and the quality of services provided.

9. The state should participate in large investment projects with a 25-30% share, ensuring the stable sale of goods and services in the first 5 years, and after the establishment of the business, sell its share to the entrepreneur.

10. It is necessary to radically transform the management system of water management, excluding middlemen, reducing the cost of irrigation water and strengthening trust between water suppliers and water users. In the next three years, the fee for irrigation water for 1 ha of land should be set at 1000 drams.

11. Over the years, the heavy credit burden has put thousands of citizens at risk of losing their property, especially in the case of consumer and agricultural loans, where interest, penalties and fines often exceed the principal amount. The state, together with the Central Bank, should establish phased regulations for the mitigation of penalties, the application of loan holidays and the restructuring of debts. The interest rate of agricultural loans should not exceed 2.5-3%.

The state should take an active part in the process of regulating agricultural relations in Armenia.

Key formulas.

– The state does not intervene where the market works, but it is obliged to intervene where the market works against food security and producer’s income.

– The goal of food security is the guaranteed minimum own production of basic products and resistance to external shocks.

– Agriculture is an element of national security, not just a market.

– The export of agricultural products does not start from the customs point, but from the field, the garden and the farm.

The efficiency of agriculture in Armenia is determined by the following main factors:

Irrigation. the foundation of the field

The focus should be on physical infrastructure, management and fair distribution, loss reduction, energy efficiency.

Subsidies and insurance

Subsidies and insurance are seen as an integrated risk management mechanism rather than as discrete measures.

Technics

The priority is access (leasing, service centers), not ownership.

Fertilizers and means of production

The task of the state is not to fix prices, but to ensure affordability, stability and predictability.

Product realization. the market as the center of politics

Domestic market

In equal conditions of quality and price, the priority is local products.

Export

Exporting is an outcome, not a goal.

Quality and certification

Not only EAEU, but also in order to enter the EU markets are necessary.

. modern laboratories

. certification centers”.

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