Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Developed gardening to help generate new jobs
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan paid a working visit to Tavush marz to get acquainted with the course of implementation of Tamara Fruit JSC-initiated organic gardens’ project. Tamara Fruit is one of those private companies having been subsidized to the amount of AMD 300mn under the government’s anti-crisis program thanks to the Operative Staff. AMD 170mn has been drawn from this sum which is meant to finance construction of organic gardens in Armenia.
The project seeks to create an organic nursery of highly productive raspberry, blackberry, black and red currant using Tamara Fruit’s industrial and gardening base. The nursery is expected to provide 450.000 saplings within two years to help develop organic gardens on an area of 65-70 ha instead of the projected 60 ha. This project will help generate a total of 600 jobs in Armenia.
Organic gardens have been established on 20 ha land across Vayots Dzor, Kotayk and Tavush marzes since the startup of the project in early 2009.
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited an organic garden in Azatamut community, familiarized himself with the existing facilities and took note of progress. The head of government told all concerned marz governors to submit to the Ministry of Agriculture the list of those farmers engaged in gardening. This will help expose the real potential of organic farmers in order to push ahead with organic agriculture in Armenia. In this connection, the Prime Minister told the press later on: “We shall be consistent in implementing this project in all of our marzes as it can promote job creation nationwide. We have significant export resource amounting to USD 250mn per year. We once again recorded that the market demand for organic produce is nearly twice as much as the existing potentialities.” The Prime Minister advised that over 100 thousand saplings are available already. They will be given to those farmers prepared to launch gardening projects. The head of government noted that the sphere is well poised to push ahead with fast pace.
When in Azatamut, the Prime Minister called at a dairy station and tobacco drying facilities.
Next the Prime Minister visited the traveling center belonging to “Apaga Tour” company in Yenokavan village which has created many new jobs well above boosting tourism in the region.
“The experience gained in Yenokavan should be studied from the perspective of developing tourism in the country. Many international organizations and foreign travel agencies are well aware of Yenokavan’s project. Exchange of know-how in this sphere may promote tourism countrywide as it meets the government’s focus of proportionate regional development,” Tigran Sargsyan said in conclusion.
