Armenia

Armenia is a mountainous, landlocked country in the Caucasus. Only about 16 percent of the country is arable land, while 44 percent is pasture land. Sixteen percent of the country's imports are agricultural, and agriculture accounts for 19 percent of its Gross Domestic Product. Although the country has made progress in reducing both the number and proportion of undernourished people in the country, 22 percent of Armenians still remain undernourished. Due to global recession, rising food prices along with an increase in poverty from 27.6 percent to 34.1 percent (2008-2009) could continue to reflect negatively on these figures in years to come.

Video: FAO in Armenia

FAO's main in-country programmes

Special Programme for Food Security
FAO is assisting the Government of Armenia to implement a rural enterprise and small-scale commercial agriculture development project funded by the World Bank.

EMPRES animal health component
The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) focuses on several livestock diseases in Armenia.

In August 2007 Armenia reported the occurrence of African swine fever. The FAO Crisis Management Centre - Animal Health deployed a joint assessment and response mission composed of experts from FAO, the European Commission and the World Organisation for Animal Health. The aim of the mission was to facilitate government efforts to control outbreaks and prevent further disease spread. FAO is also assisting Armenia with a project on emergency assistance for the control of African swine fever.

Armenia has received support from the European Commission trust fund in the form of the supply of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines, sero-surveillance and diagnostic services. Experts from FAO and the All-Russian Institute for Animal Health sent experts to Armenia in 2008.

Armenia is also currently benefiting from a project on brucellosis control.

Although Armenia has never reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the country is a beneficiary under five ongoing HPAI projects.

EMPRES plant health component
Armenia is affected mainly by the Italian Locust and is part of a recently approved regional project. This project includes nine countries (Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and aims to improve national and regional locust management in the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was prepared on the basis of the experience gained within EMPRES. Its long-term objective is inspired by the EMPRES approach of promoting preventive control in order to reduce occurrence and intensity of locust outbreaks and avoid their development into major ones.

last updated: 29 June 2011