ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES 508.8 MILLION DRAMS TO LAND USERS OF
COMMUNITIES AFFLICTED BY DROUGHT

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, NOYAN TAPAN. At the January 12 sitting, the
Armenian government made a decision to allocate 508.8 mln drams (about
1.4 mln USD) from the RA government’s reserve fund to the RA Ministry
of Agriculture for providing assistance to land users of the
communities afflicted by drought. The minister of agriculture was
instructed to ensure the purchase and import of cultured plant seeds
to be sown in spring and their distribution to Armenian marzes. The
regional governors were instructed to ensure and control the receipt,
transportation and disctribution of seeds to communities. The
interdepartmental commission, which was created to coordinate measures
on mitigation of the drought consequences, was instructed to conduct
studies in communities to check the transparency and fairness of seed
distribution process.

According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, it was
noted at the sitting that the studies conducted in Armenian marzes
show that out of 123.2 thousand ha of grain and groats sowing areas in
457 communities afflicted by drought, 64.3 thousand ha was damaged as
a result of the drought.

By another decision, in the first quarter of this year, 22 mln 50
thousand drams will be allocated from the RA government’s 2007 reserve
fund to the Shirak regional administration as 10% co-financing by
Armenian communities by the Rural Areas Economic Development Program
implemented with the assistance of the International Fund for
Agriculture Development (IFAD). Out of this sum, 10 mln 210 thousand
drams and 11 mln 840 thousand drams will be allocated to the
Meghrashen and Lusaghbyur villages of Shirak marz for repairs of
intercommunity roads.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress