PRESS RELEASE
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Buiding 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Armen Ohanyan
Tel: +(3741) 56 01 06 ext. 105
Fax: +(3741) 52 15 05
E-mail: pr@himnadram.org
Web:

22 July, 2008
Hayastan All Armenian Fund Provides Agricultural Machinery to Tavush Region’s
Border Villages

As part of the ongoing effort to reach out to the border villages of Armenia
and Artsakh, Hayastan All Armenian Fund is pleased to announce the
successful completion of yet another initiative. The project saw the
provision of a combine harvester and two tractors to six border communities
in Tavush region, courtesy of the Fund’s East Coast Affiliate.

The machinery will serve the needs of the communities of Aknaghbyur,
Azatamut, Ditavan, Lusahovit, Lusadzor and Khashtarak and will be a welcome
and much needed relief for the local farmers who, with the lack of adequate
machinery, were mostly restricted to manual labor for the cultivation of
their land. An energy and time consuming process, the prevalent reliance on
the manual labor decreased the productivity of the land, while also
increasing the market price of the end product.

The agricultural machinery will be co owned and jointly managed by the
community administrations of the six beneficiary communities, who will
together plan the cultivation and harvesting schedule, making sure that the
machinery adequately addresses the specific needs of all the villages. When
finished with the arable land in the six beneficiary communities, the
machinery will also be used to help farmers from the neighboring
communities.

A key aspect of this initiative is its long term sustainability. To tackle
this issue, Hayastan All Armenian Fund will perform continuous monitoring of
the project, to ensure efficient administration of the machinery and to help
the communities solve the problems that may arise in the early stages of the
project. The income generated by the enterprise will cover the maintenance
of the machinery and all other associated costs. The project will also see
the creation of a special bank account, where part of the income will be
accumulated to ensure the renewal and the long term enlargement of the
machinery park.

"We are very thankful to Hayastan All Armenian Fund for this initiative,"
says the mayor of Ditavan village Seyran Sargsyan. "The lack of agricultural
machinery was one of the biggest problems for the farmers in our small
communities. Today, thanks to the Fund, this problem is solved.

The arrival of the machinery in the border villages coincided with the peak
of the cultivation season and it immediately found its use in the field.

"This project is an integral part of Hayastan All Armenian Fund’s overall
development strategy that, along with addressing infrastructure issues, also
aims at alleviating the economic situation in the beneficiary communities,"
says Ara Vardanyan, the acting executive director of the Fund. "Our policy
here is to help people help themselves."