Monday, 23 November 2009
On behalf of the government of the Republic of Armenia, allow me to welcome the participants of this fifth anniversary forum. This gathering testifies that Fruitful Armenia has so far been productive in terms of agricultural development.
I see a meaning in that today’s meeting is dedicated to those talented young people who have a say in public life. I do hope that this forum will inspire them with enthusiasm to make innovations in the sphere of agriculture.
During the year, I attended two important forums associated with this theme in a way or another. The first one was organized in the Silicon Valley referred to as Arm Tech – 2009 involving about 100 companies from the Armenian private sector which targeted the encouragement of innovations, new thinking, revealing of new ideas for the development of information technologies in Armenia so that we could apply innovations in the sphere of agriculture.
The next major forum was the FAO Summit of Rome involving heads of State and government from around the globe. Quite an interesting discussion took place of the problems accumulated in the sphere of agriculture, food production and on follow-up objectives. Noteworthy is that handouts were circulated featuring the findings of a survey which stated that agricultural reform in Armenia and 3 other countries had been successful. It goes without saying that in spite of such a favorable consideration given to agricultural reform in Armenia, we cannot help addressing the problems available in this area - food security, modern farming approaches, incentives for small farmers, securing a place for them on the market amid escalating productivity race, the use of updated schemes enabling small farmers to keep up with larger enterprises. These concerns are on top of our policy agenda.
I am hopeful that this forum will formulate new ideas conducive to innovative solutions for all of these problems. We prioritize innovative approaches to farming, possibly proposed by our talented youth based on international experience. We are ready to extend a helping hand, to assist you with your efforts as we need fresh ideas.
In cooperation with international partners, the Government is implementing a number of important programs.
The first one is From Water to Market activity under the Millenium Challenge Program. You may know that in the framework of this program, beyond restoring and upgrading the existing systems of irrigation, solving potable water-related problems in tens of communities, we address a much more important task, namely the transfer of knowledge to rural communities, supposed to help them make a better use of available resources and other assets in order to determine effective and suitable ways of developing agriculture in specific areas.
Infrastructure development is the second priority area. You are aware the government is set to spend several billions on infrastructure-related projects under its anti-crisis program as infrastructures can create more favorable conditions for the development of agriculture, especially in rural communities. For example, the building of rural roads connecting villages with towns will facilitate the freight of commodities toward urban centers and thereby improve the living standards of rural population. You may understand that this is crucial not only for the growth of agriculture, but also for the proportionate development of regions..
Once again, I welcome you at this forum and wish you fruitful work.
Thank you.
