14:28,

YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he believes Armenia has one problem in agriculture, and the problem is the issue of knowledge.

“If we solve the issues raised by the farmers, nevertheless it won’t solve the important issue. Why, because one year the harvest will be a lot more than needed and this will result in prices of the harvest decreasing so much that the farmer won’t have income, one year the harvest will be less, so less that the farmer will again not have income, then one other year there will be hailstorms, freezing temperatures, all these are equal problems. The issue is the following, what is the solution of this problem. I maintain my opinion that the solution is the change of mentality,” Pashinyan said after touring agricultural businesses in Ararat Province.

He also highlighted the need for changing the culture of land cultivation because the existing culture won’t allow farmers to get rich and prosper.

“Modern-day farmers aren’t thinking how much harvest they will have, they are planning how much they need for the volume to be manageable. The harvest in the intensive gardens of the modern world are not depending on weather or other factors, they depend on planning,” Pashinyan said.

“We must switch to modern farming technologies, intensive gardening, business-model based agriculture, consolidation of lands, and this must be our strategy”.

Pashinyan said he notices progress as farmers themselves are admitting that there is an issue of knowledge and skills.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan