Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Prime Minister on working visit to Shirak Marz
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan traveled to Berdashen community of Shirak Marz to get acquainted with the course of construction of a guest house and office buildings at Arpi Lich national park. The head of government took the opportunity to meet with the inhabitants of Berdashen community.
The eco-region nature protection program in South Caucasus - creation of protected areas in Javakhk (Ashotsk) region of Armenia - seeks to develop ecotourism and safeguard the exceptional biological variety of territories of high-mountainous region of Armenia Chirac – Javakhk along the borders with Georgia and Turkey by simultaneously promoting sustained development of communities in Shirak Marz by means of Arpi Lich national park and realization of community development programs in the protected zone of the national park (14 target communities), as well as by contributing to cross-border cooperation between Armenia and Georgia. The program has a total budget of euro 2.2 million.
Berdashen community Ashotsk region is also included in the program of management by agricultural resources of communities and their competitiveness. This program will help develop necessary actions for improvement of pastures, such as introduction of a system of replaceable use of pastures, water-assisted maintenance of pastures, as well as partial repair of roads conducting to pastures and creation of opportunities for manufacture of forages.
During a briefing with journalists, concerning the programs carried out in the region, the Prime Minister said that the development of cattle breeding is seen as a priority. As assured by Tigran Sargsyan, irrigation water and roads are needed to ensure greater accessibility of pastures. According to the Prime Minister, the experts involved in this program say that it will help increase community revenue by at least 20 percent.
“Agricultural machinery will be given to the community, with 50% of the cost covered by the State. All the community farmers have agreed to join the cooperative society and are prepared to make corresponding investments. If we create the needed economic basis, household incomes will grow from year to year,” Tigran Sargsyan said.
“You may understand that all the problems cannot be solved at once, nevertheless I assure you that living standards will improve in this region every year,” the Prime Minister added.
Note that the irrigation water supply and installation of watering places are included in frame of those preliminary investment programs proposed by the community as improvement of infrastructures, in particular. As a whole, AMD 34mn is planned to be invested in irrigation projects under the program. The estimated cost of the program of pasture management in Berdashen community is AMD 87mn.
