Armenian Cabinet to compensate 50% of crop production expenses 

ArmInfo. The Armenian government is ready to compensate 50% of the expenses of entrepreneurs engaged in crop production.

The maximum total compensation amount provided per beneficiary will  be 11 million drams. On March 27, at a regular meeting, the Cabinet  of Ministers approved the .

As noted in the explanatory note to the document, according to the  data of the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, in  recent years, a decrease in the sown area of spring grain and legume  crops has been recorded in the republic, in particular, in 2023,  compared to 2020, the sown area of legume crops decreased by about  577 hectares. The sowing area of spring barley in 2023 compared to  2020 decreased by 10,210 hectares, spring wheat - by about 180  hectares, and the sowing area of perennial grasses this year compared  to 2020 decreased by about 567 hectares. At the same time, the of March 24, 2024, had a positive impact  on the increase in sowing areas, in particular, the sowing area of  spring grain crops increased by 5,206 hectares, leguminous crops - by  378 hectares, perennial grass crops - by 1,209 hectares.

At the same time, after the implementation of the Winter Wheat  Production Support Program in 2022, the area under winter wheat in  2023 decreased by 14,111 hectares (according to the publication of  the RA Commission on Agriculture, they amounted to 55,032 hectares),  and according to operational information received from the RA  regional administrations, in 2024 they decreased by about 12,318  hectares compared to 2023, amounting to 42,714 hectares. In many  ways, the authors of the initiative, represented by the Ministry of  Economy, note, this is due to the fact that the state support program  was not implemented in 2023, as well as a sharp decline in wheat  prices on the market, as a result of which locally produced wheat  became uncompetitive.

In the current situation, the required agrotechnical measures are not  implemented to the proper extent when cultivating the main  agricultural crops, the latest cultivation technologies are not  applied, the main reason for which is the lack of necessary financial  resources and the lack of necessary knowledge. Therefore, it is  necessary to ensure access to financial resources for entrepreneurs  engaged in crop production, as well as to provide them with  professional advice for the implementation of the necessary  agrotechnical measures and the introduction of effective  technologies.

, the document says.

A beneficiary of the program may be an economic entity cultivating  agricultural crops included in the proposed table, with an area of up  to 100 hectares (excluding household plots), while the total area of  agricultural crops cultivated by each beneficiary within the  framework of the program may not exceed 100 hectares, and in the case  of co-owners of the same land plot, only one of the co-owners may be  the beneficiary of the program.

The program is implemented under the following conditions:

1) Within the framework of the program, the cultivation of  agricultural crops specified in Table No. 1 attached to the decision  is encouraged;

2) Each beneficiary may sow several types of agricultural crops in  the relevant region of the Republic of Armenia.

3) Sowing of spring grain and forage crops must be carried out by  June 1 of the given year (except for sowing of spring grain crops in  the upper sub-district of Amasia community (former Arpi community),  which must be carried out by June 10 of the given year), sowing of  corn in the Ararat and Armavir regions of the Republic of Armenia  must be carried out by May 20 of the given year, leguminous crops -  by June 10 of the given year, and winter wheat - by November 15 of  the given year, which is monitored by the communities.

4) If necessary, the Ministry may provide beneficiaries with free  consultations on the terms and requirements of the program, while  consultations on the necessary agrotechnical measures for each  agricultural crop are presented in Tables No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

5) The maximum total compensation amount provided to one beneficiary  cannot exceed 11 million AMD (110,000 AMD X 100 ha)

6) Mixed sowing is allowed under the program, but only the seeds of  the main crop must be certified and laboratory tested, and the  compensation is provided in the amount of compensation provided for  the main crops.

7) Beneficiaries of the program can also use support for the  introduction of modern irrigation systems for growing agricultural  crops on the same plot of land, but cannot use other state support  programs for growing the same crop on the same plot of land.

10) The amount of 50% compensation of expenses incurred by each  beneficiary is calculated based on the average market prices of the  main works: soil cultivation, sowing, harvesting and seed costs per  hectare of sown area of the crop, which are presented in Tables No.  8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (the calculation is made based on the average market  prices in the republic, determined as a result of surveys of the  regions of the Republic of Armenia): Thus, the main costs of  cultivation (planting, sowing, harvesting and cost of seeds) of  spring grain crops per hectare are 140,000 drams, and for corn -  170,000 drams. The main costs of cultivation (planting, sowing,  harvesting and cost of seeds) per hectare of winter wheat are 160,000  drams. The basic costs of cultivation (planting, sowing, harvesting  and cost of seeds) per 1 hectare of grain crops are 200,000 drams.

The main costs of sowing and cultivating alfalfa and corn in the  first year (sowing, planting, harvesting, cost of seeds) per hectare  of forage crops are 220,000 drams, and fodder beet - 160,000 drams.

11. Compensation is provided within the following limits: For each  hectare of cultivated spring grain crops - 70,000 drams, and for each  hectare of cultivated corn - 85,000 drams, 80,000 drams per hectare  of sown area of winter wheat, 100,000 drams for each hectare of sown  area of leguminous crops, from forage crops: alfalfa and corn -  110,000 drams per 1 hectare of sown area, fodder beet - 80,000 drams.

As a result of the adoption of the project, the level of food  self-sufficiency of the republic is expected to increase, the area of  cultivated arable land will increase by 35.95 thousand hectares,  including winter wheat by 17 thousand hectares, the area of spring  grain and leguminous crops will increase by 16.7 thousand hectares,  including corn by 1.2 thousand hectares, leguminous crops by 500  hectares), forage crops (alfalfa, corn, fodder beet) by 2.25 thousand  hectares, the yield will increase, and the volume of imports will  decrease.