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The Republic of Armenia has a total area of 2.97 thousand hectare from which 2.04 thousand hectare is agricultural land. Below is the chart of agricultural land distribution according to land types in 2017. After privatization of state and collective farms, there were created more than 300,000 family farms. Agricultural lands managed by family farms are highly fragmented (33% are in six and more plots) with the average of 1.48 ha. Underneath is the table of categorization of family farms by size. More than 90% of agricultural gross domestic product is produced by family farms. Wheat is the main staple crop grown, followed by potatoes, then other vegetables, legumes and oil seed crops. Livestock includes cattle, pigs, and some sheep and poultry.  54% of family farms are involved in both crop production and animal husbandry, 4% - only in animal husbandry and 42% - in land cultivation. In addition, 99.9% of all farms are managed by natural persons and are considered as family farms. In most cases, family farms are also smallholder farms.

     FIGURE 1. AGRICULTURAL LAND TYPES IN THE RA

26.5% of rural households are headed by women, and in many cases, this is linked with male out-migration. About 38% of income in rural communities in 2010 came from agriculture, with a little less than half of this generated by the sale of agricultural products. Wage employment accounted for 29% of rural income, 20% came from pensions and social payments and about nine percent came from remittances (ARMSTAT, 2015c). Rural women working informally on family farms do not receive any compensation as defined by the Labor Code, such as sick leave and childcare allowances, because they are considered either self-employed or economically inactive. In rural communities, two-thirds of employed women do not receive cash earnings when they are self-employed (Yerevan State University, 2015). In family farming, a strong gender-based segregation of tasks exists.

   FIGURE 2. CATEGORIZATION OF FAMILY FARMS BY SIZE

Women from rural communities are strongly involved in livestock farming, particularly in dairy production (including milking, milk processing, and the marketing of milk and other dairy products). Sometimes, due to the high level of importance of dairy production for the household, family members (both women and men) mutually support each other in performing livestock-related activities.

Family farms provide employment to unskilled workers and ensure demand for many small businesses, also produce raw materials for most of the export-oriented processing companies, thus contributing to generation of foreign currency earnings. In addition, family farms guarantee for national food security in terms of providing availability of food.

Efforts of national and international agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture of the RA, Agricultural National Agrarian University, Agriculture Development Fund, the United States Department of Agriculture, United Methodist Committee on Relief, World Vision, World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Development Programme, The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, European Union, Global Environment Facility, Austrian Development Agency, International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education, The Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development Foundation, Heifer International Armenia, Oxfam, Development Principles NGO, Sahman NGO, Green Lane NGO, AUA Turpanjian RDP, Shen NGO and many others towards the agriculture development in Armenia, lead to the livelihoods improvements, rural development and economy growth in rural areas. 

There is a strong focus on technical assistance and capacity building, particularly in new product development and marketing. Empowerment of women and youth is one of the declared objectives of the agencies listed above, and they offer a range of related activities including development of entrepreneurship, management of natural resources, trainings and education.
Agricultural Alliance was founded in 2011. It brings together 14 local and international organizations, which combine their efforts and experience to solve existing problems in the field of agriculture. The main objectives are to: uncover and solve current problems in agriculture; promote the consumption of local agricultural production; protect the rights of smallholder farmers; undertake steps to improve the legislative framework of the agricultural sector; and create effective mechanisms for the development of the sector. In 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Agriculture of RA and Agricultural Alliance. This aimed at providing a framework for cooperation and initiating joined-up steps towards solving the problems in agriculture. Agricultural Alliance has developed and published several Policy Papers, which have had positive impacts on bringing about changes in the field, especially in relation to the loan policy, legislative amendments affecting agricultural cooperatives and gender mainstreaming of national policies.

All the encountered difficulties that farmers face and lead to insufficient family farming in RA are as follows:

• Common occurrence of drought, hailstorm, and lack of related services.
• Lack of irrigation facilities and network
• Lack of ability to purchase seeds and chemical fertilizers, pesticides, veterinary medicines, diesel, fuel
• Lack of agricultural machinery
• Low selling prices and limited local markets
• Lack of agro-processing facility
• Livestock-related issues, low productivity
• Lack of access to technical information and technology.

The listed difficulties would be much easier to overcome in case of unified actions, which already is proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture of RA. Recently there has been a huge support to family farms by government for the establishment of anti-hail nets, drip irrigation system, intensive orchards, access to cheap credit, agricultural efficient machineries, livestock improvement and many more. Moreover, 2018 is the starting year for agricultural insurance pilot project. The aforementioned are ongoing projects that rural communities can participate in. This strategy will ensure a stable growth of agricultural sector. Agricultural Development Fund is strongly supporting family farmers to conduct efficient farming as well. Specialized training courses for up to five days are delivered to family farmers, which include topics not only on narrow agriculture field but also on increasing the capacity of farmers’ knowledge on financial literacy.

This text is kindly provided by the authorities of this country.