ArmenPress
March 25 2005

UNDP ARMENIA WHITE PAPER FOCUSES ON LAND REFORM

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS: The United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) presented today at UN House in Yerevan its first White
Paper titled Land Reform, Rural Poverty and Inequality: A Pro-Poor
Approach to Land Policies.
A press release by the UNDP said the Paper was presented by Vahram
Nercissiantz, Chief Economic Advisor, Lise Grande, UN Resident
Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, and Dr. Max Spoor, the
author, Associate Professor of Social Studies at the Center for the
Study of Transition and Development (CESTRAD) in the Hague.
It said the purpose of the Paper, produced in Armenian and
English, is to encourage public discussion on issues related to rural
poverty and inequality, land consolidation and agricultural
productivity.
According to Dr. Max Spoor, the recent high growth rates in
agriculture have not led to a significant reduction in overall rural
poverty. He argues that role of small land ownership, as a safeguard
against poverty, is diminishing and this is the key reason why rural
poverty continues. Small land plots owned by rural households are
less able to provide for the food needs of families, particularly
with rapidly changing markets where the bargaining position of small
peasants is weak.
The Paper notes that during the period of egalitarian land reform
in the early 1990s, only a part of the total agricultural land area
of the country was distributed. According to Dr. Spoor: “Armenia has
entered a new phase of land reform through a massive transfer of
remaining state-owned land to the jurisdiction of local communities.
This land transfer program should be used in order to strengthen the
weak position of the extremely small peasant farms, as a primary tool
of pro-poor land policies.”
Among other policy recommendations, the Paper highlights the
importance of promoting the formation of cooperative and associative
institutions specialized in the selling and buying of inputs and
output in agricultural markets and public investments projects aimed
at improving deteriorating rural infrastructures. The Paper also
recommends the gradual implementation of Armenia’s commitments under
the WTO agreement and argues that a rapid introduction of VAT on
agricultural products should be avoided.
Ms. Grande noted in her speech: “UNDP has chosen rural poverty and
land policy for the first White Paper because economic progress in
the regions is still slow, particularly in rural areas. In some
communities, conditions are worsening, putting thousands of
households at serious risk. The Government’s major policy shift
towards rural areas is a positive step and we are pleased to support
efforts at poverty reduction by launching a White Paper that focuses
on the underlying factors affecting rural development.”
As part of on-going efforts to promote pro-poor policies, UNDP
aims to prepare a series of White Papers on key development and
poverty issues during 2005 similar to the one launched today.