FAO Press Release


16 July 2008

The initiative on soaring food prices now covers 54 countries. Vulnerable populations are the main target. FAO has just approved a series of projects in 48 countries for a total value of US$ 21 million to help small farmers and vulnerable households mitigate the negative effects of rising food and input prices. The project will provide farmers with agricultural inputs as of this month for an expected duration of one year. Funded by the Technical Cooperation Programme - i.e. FAO's own resources - they are part of FAO's Initiative on soaring food prices (ISFP)
Armenia is among these countries and will benefit from this FAO initiative within the framework of a newly approved TCP/ARM/3202 (E) -Input supply to vulnerable populations under the Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP) project.
The overall objective of the project is to maintain livelihoods and food security of the most vulnerable households of the food insecure districts of Armenia, affected by the difficult 2007/8 winter as well as the recent soaring food prices crisis, to provide technical assistance on best farming practices and to ensure long lasting and sustainable results for future planting seasons.
This project will target the most affected farmers with an emergency distribution of cereal seeds and adequate fertilizers. This will enable farmers to resume agriculture activities and offer them an alternative source of income, thus restoring the household economy and ensuring food security. In addition, the target beneficiaries will be provided with adequate training in improved potato, wheat and vegetable production. Some 2,000 vulnerable rural households in the most affected areas of Armenia will benefit from this project.
The duration of the project is 12 months and the total project budget is $ 500 000.


The project already became operational and the FAO Representation implementing partner of it is the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia.

Office of the official representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Armenia has been opened in Yerevan 3 September 2004.

Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, Ms. Maria Kadlecikova, FAO Sub-regional representative for Central and Eastern Europe and the representative of FAO to Armenia and Mr. Zohrab Malek, Permanent representative of Armenia to FAO, attended the official ceremony of the opening.

During his visit to Armenia, September 3-4, Dr. Jacques Diouf had meetings with the President of Armenia Mr. Robert Qocharyan, the Prime-minister Mr. Andranik Margaryan and the Minister of Agriculture Mr. David Loqyan.

Mr. David Loqyan, the Minister of Agriculture, welcomed the FAO delegation warmly on behalf of the Government of Armenia and extended his thanks for visiting the country and for assisting in a number of projects implemented in Armenia in co-operation with FAO. The Minister emphasized the especial importance of the FAO mission all over the world.

Dr. Diouf stressed in his speech that the opening of the representative office here in Armenia is a significant event for FAO for this is the first representation of FAO in Eastern Europe. He highly appreciated the efforts made by the government of Armenia in order to have this representation established here. Dr. Diouf extended his hopes that the local office opened in Armenia will make more available the rich experience accumulated by FAO. The Director-General said that they are aware of the issues and challenges, the agriculture of Armenia and rural communities are facing now, and the FAO is ready to support the government to attain the main objectives of development in this sphere. In particular it was emphasized that the Office of the representative of FAO in Armenia will provide the government with information and technical support in order to foster development of agriculture and processing industry, increasing the rates of realization of Ag products and to improve the living standard in rural communities as well.
Armenia is rich in natural resources, the Director-General said, but the human resources of the country are very much more significant. Therefore Dr. Diouf expressed his confidence that the availability of the necessary technologies and the efficient management of the natural resources could create opportunity for increasing the efficiency of agriculture as well as expanding the support of rural communities.

The Director-General of the FAO Dr. Jacques Diouf was awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor of the Agricultural Academy of Armenia.Dr. Diouf extended his thanks to the Academy and stressed that this is a very honorable award not only for him personally but also for the FAO team. This is an appreciation of the work done by hundreds and hundreds of specialists working throughout the world and making every effort to develop the agriculture and rural communities in order to save the world from starvation and malnutrition, the Director-General said.

The participants of the meeting held by the Ministry of Agriculture discussed a number of agriculture related topics and issues. In particular, it was stressed that Armenia is producing high quality Ag products but unfortunately experiencing permanent hardship in the export side of its economy. Therefore changing the correlation between the import and export sides of the economy in favor of the last one has been highlighted as the main priority of the future economic development of the country. The Director-General of FAO has been offered to initiate some new co-operative projects in Armenia particularly in the cereals production sector of agriculture.
It should be stressed that a number of projects are being carried out in Armenia currently in co-operation with FAO more about FAO projects in Armenia.

photos by Hambartsum Hovhannisyan

The Second International "ArmAgroForum" Conference will be held from 22 ^nd to 23 ^rd of September 2006, in Yerevan, Armenia. The Conference will be organized by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia.
As a part of the ArmAgroForum events the International Workshop will be held at the State Agrarian University of Armenia.
ArmAgroForum aims

• to support the development of rural areas;
• to promote entrepreneurship in agricultural and food production sector of Armenia;
• to develop cooperation with foreign industries and agricultural producers;
• to develop direct relations between local producers and foreign trade bodies.

The representatives of a number of international organizations and foreign countries as well as local entrepreneurs will be invited to attend the Conference. Business meetings and discussions will be organized in different thematic working groups within the framework of ArmAgroForum.

At its 73rd Annual General Session held from 22 to 27 May 2005 in Paris, the International Committee of the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) unanimously adopted the Fourth strategic Plan of the OIE covering the period 2005-2010. The Fourth Strategic Plan provides inter alia for the improvement of Veterinary Services and the strengthening of links with OIE.
In this context, the OIE Regional Commission for Europe, which comprises 50 European Member Countries, has planned a series of seminars to be held in collaboration with the OIE Member Countries (European Union and non-European Union Memeber States). This series of seminars is entitled "Dialogue and common activities between the OIE Member Countries of the European Union and the other OIE Member Countries of the OIE Regional Commission for Europe".
The purpose of the seminar, which is organized in close collaboration with the European Commission''s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO), is to explain to the official Veterinary Services (scientific experts and administrators), representatives of private sector veterinarians, university lectures, researchers, the media and the political authorities of Member Country governments, international Standards, Guidelines and Recommendations developed by the OIE.
Topics of prime interest to be discussed during the forthcoming Seminars include animal disease incursions, in particular, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), foot and mouth disease (FMD), and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which pose serious threats to human and/or animal health.
The first seminars planned for 2005 have already been held under the auspices of Heads of States/Governments of host countries in Sofia (Bulgaria), Brashov (Romania) and Ankara (Turkey) with a very large participation of veterinary officials, policy-makers and stakeholders with remarkable success.