FRENCH DEPARTMENT OF HAUTS-DE-SEINE GRANTS 500,000 EUROS TO ARMENIA FUND
armradio.am
29.01.2009 16:32
Patrick Devedjian, President of the French Department of
Hauts-de-Seine, and Bédros Terzian, President of Fonds Arménien
de France (the French affiliate of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund), have
signed a convention to set up a program for agricultural development
in the Tavush region, Northern Armenia.
Tavush is one of the poorest areas of Armenia, where the productivity
of the agricultural sector can be substantially improved with the
introduction of modern equipment and quality seeds. At present, only
45% of the arable land is exploited, mainly due to the lack of water
and insufficient technical equipment.
The 500,000 euro (US$675,000) grant by the French Department for
the year 2009 will be a major contribution for the financing of a
two-year program for revamping the irrigation network, setting up a
milk gathering station as well as an agricultural base with tractors
and combined harvesters. A particular effort will be made towards
technical training and the improvement of production quality.
The signing of the Convention was preceded by the unanimous vote
in favor of this grant by the Department’s Assembly, a sign of the
confidence inspired by the French affiliate of the Armenia Fund
as a partner for local and regional authorities in carrying out
development projects.
The criteria followed by the D epartment in choosing partners
for international cooperation include the latters’ skills, past
experience, transparency as well as the integral value of the
project itself. Armenia is one of the four countries included in the
Hauts-de-Seine poverty eradication program. Others include Cambodia,
Mali and Haiti.
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