PRESS RELEASE
United Nations Development Programme / Armenia
14 Petros Adamyan St., Yerevan 0010
Contact: Mr. Hovhannes Sarajyan, Communications Associate
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Head of the United Nations in Armenia Inspects Projects Implemented in
Various Communities of Armenia
United Nations, Yerevan – On July 2, 2008 Ms. Consuelo Vidal, the
United Nations Resident Coordinator / UN Development Programme (UNDP)
Resident Representative in Armenia made a working visit to several urban
and rural communities of Armenia to observe the development projects
implemented by UNDP and its partners. The agenda included visits to
Ararat, Kotayk, and Shirak regions where UNDP works to promote
community-based initiatives aimed at improving the social and economic
conditions of the local population.
Since 2006 UNDP has been cooperating with the municipality of Masis town
of Ararat marz under its Performance Budgeting Project. Through targeted
counseling and technical assistance, Masis municipality has switched to
the new, results-based budgeting model which, in addition to improved
work efficiency of the local governance, allows an increased public
participation in planning, execution and monitoring of the community’s
budget. As part of the budget implementation, UNDP carried out a project
on the renovation of 41 entrances of 9 residential buildings located in
different districts of town of Masis, which needed most pending repairs.
Nor Geghi Agricultural College in Kotayk region is one of the five
vocational education and training institutions included in the framework
of UNDP `Support to the Modernization of Vocational Education and
Training System’ (VET) Project, which benefited from the activities
undertaken by the VET project during the two years of its
implementation. The VET project has initiated an unprecedented
initiative targeted at creation of an educational demonstrative orchard
adjacent to the College building, which will amass a whole range of
sample indigenous sorts of drupaceous fruits allowing more than 400
students from the College, as well as the students from nearby
Agricultural Institute, to practically get acquainted with morphological
characteristics of domestic drupaceous fruits, modern irrigation
technologies, cultivation techniques, agricultural protections, etc. As
a result, the students could combine the theory with the practice
conducting new laboratory experiments and practical assignments.
Moreover, the orchard will have a strong potential to become an
excellent scientific base for research works to be undertaken by the
scientists across the country. The project has also initiated the
procurement of agro-mechanization laboratory for the College to allow
practical application of the newly acquired knowledge.
Over the recent two years UNDP has been working with the local
self-government bodies of Artik town of Shirak region to set up the
results-based budgeting methodology. In line with the priorities
identified by the community in 2007, the project on full reconstruction
of the town’s Extracurricular Education Center was undertaken jointly by
UNDP and USAID, with participation of Artik community. As a result, the
renovated Center has provided 7 new jobs for professional teachers of
the town. Today, more comfortable and suitable conditions are offered to
over 150 students attending around 20 activity groups of the Center.
In the framework of the UNDP/GEF `Armenia-Improving the Energy
Efficiency of Municipal Heating and Hot Water Supply’ project, the
centralized heat supply systems of four residential buildings in Gyumri
city of Shirak region were connected to two boiler houses, which
required preliminary technical assessment and capital investments. As
part of the cooperation agreement signed between UNDP and Gyumri
municipality, 238 households, out of which 27 % are socially vulnerable
families, of these residential buildings will receive centralized
heating in 2008-09 heating season, under the supervision of `Gyumri
Kentron’ condominium.
In Ashotsk, the very northern sub-district of Shirak region, UNDP has
partnered with the Government of Norway to implement a set of
agricultural development projects supporting the cluster of four border
villages – Bavra, Sizavet, Tavshut and Saragyugh. In 2007, UNDP
supported the renovation of the agricultural machinery pool and
purchased a fleet of new machinery units to serve around 1,500 residents
of the cluster communities. An inter-community institution, LEJAME Fund,
was established with UNDP assistance in an effort to set up a basis for
institutional management. To mobilize the population and especially the
youth of the cluster villages, UNDP has supported publishing of a local
newspaper.
In March 2008, the UN agencies – UNDP, Food and Agricultural
Organization and World Food Program -initiated the project on potato
seed revolving fund creation for the cluster villages. Around 9.5 tons
of Dutch potato seeding material was planted on 3 hectares of irrigated
land and cultivated by local workforce paid with food rations, under the
food-for-work initiative of WFP. The direct beneficiaries of this
project are 500 socially vulnerable residents of the cluster who will be
provided with the crop as food relief. Another part will be distributed
among multi-children families for further planting and the remaining
households will have an opportunity to buy potato seeding at a below
market price. The sales proceeds will be turned into new purchase of
potato seeding to be planted and distributed the same way. Governed by
LEJAME Fund, the potato seeding fund will operate by the similar scheme
increasing its volume from year to year.
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UNDP is on ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own
solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP in Armenia
was established in 1993 and supports the Government of Armenia to reach
its own development priorities and the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.