WFP Armenia Country Brief

Highlights

• The launch of the National Strategic Review in Armenia is scheduled for Monday 15 January 2018.

• Yerevan to receive a new loan from the German Development Bank (KfW) worth $93 million to assist with budgetary expenditures.

• Word Bank provided further support to the development of Armenia’s irrigation systems though a $2 million loan for the Additional Financing of the Irrigation System Enhancement Project.

Operational Updates

• Official launch of the National Strategic Review (NSR) in Armenia: The launch of the National Strategic Review in Armenia is scheduled for 15 January 2018. The official launch will conclude a year-long consultative process of thorough analysis led by the Government of Armenia and supported by both Armenian and international partners. The review focused on how to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 2 on “ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture”. The meeting will present the recommendations of the review and highlight the state of food security and nutrition in Armenia. His Excellency Vice Prime Minister, Mr. Vache Gabrielyan will chair the panel. He will be joined by the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and the Lead Convener of the review. The Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and WFP Director of Policy and Programme in HQ will also be in attendance.

• Yerevan to receive USD 93 million German loan: The Armenian government announced on November 9 that the German Development Bank (KfW) will provide a soft loan of 80 million-euro (USD 93 million) to support government efforts to improve waste management and introduce a national system of agricultural insurance in Armenia…This “budgetary support loan” will be disbursed in two equal instalments this year and next year. Agricultural insurance is increasingly seen as a vital necessity in Armenia where thousands of subsistence farmers lose their crops each year due to hailstorms, droughts, and other natural disasters. Since 1998, KfW has financed hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects in Armenia’s energy, finance, healthcare, real estate, and water supply sectors. Ongoing projects include the construction of a new power transmission line that will connect Armenia to Georgia and the building a first-ever energy-efficient office complex in Yerevan.

• The World Bank provides additional support to the development of Armenia’s irrigation systems: More than 630 Armenian farmers will directly benefit from improved water service delivery, thanks to a USD 2.5 million loan as additional financing to the Irrigation System Enhancement Project, signed on 14 November by the Government of Armenia and the World Bank. The financing aims to further assist the Government in its efforts to ensure efficient, cost effective, and sustainable irrigation, through reduced use of energy and improved timing of water supply. The World Bank country manager in Armenia highlighted that the Bank’s intervention since 2013, will decrease water shortages experienced by farmers, increase reliability of water supply and timely delivery – allowing for an increase in productivity, while the reconstructed tertiary system will provide farmers with a choice of on-farm technologies, such as drip irrigation.

The on-going construction of the new BaghramyanNorakert gravity scheme will deliver water to about 573 hectares of agricultural land, helping 635 farmers in the cultivation of their crops. The project has also completed the construction of the Meghri and Geghardalich gravity schemes, while Kaghstrashen is underway. Expected outcomes include energy savings of about 36.4 million kilowatt hours (kw/h) annually, equivalent to about 30% of the total irrigation needs in Armenia, while reducing water losses by about 23 million cubic meters annually.

 

Original source and full report: World Food Programme
Published on 30 November 2017