Sheep breeding is one of the important and traditional branches of animal husbandry in Armenia, taking into account climatic conditions, pastures and the needs of the country’s market. Based on this, a few years ago the government adopted the program “Assistance to the development of sheep and goat breeding in the Republic of Armenia for 2019-2023”.
The state program is implemented in two formats: subsidizing the interest rate on the loan and partial reimbursement of costs. At the same time, loans are provided with a maturity of four years and are subsidized by the state to the extent that the loan is available to the entrepreneur — at a 2 percent rate. And to business owners of border communities or cooperatives working in the field of agriculture, with a zero interest rate.
For the second component, the state reimburses 23% of the cost of expenses. The farmer applies to the Ministry of Economy, and if he receives an appropriate conclusion, he acquires animals, and the state compensates 23% of the value of the purchased breeding small cattle in the amount of 450 thousand drams. The state compensates residents and cooperatives of border areas for 27%.
As Tigran Chitchyan, head of the Department of Animal Husbandry of the National Agrarian University of Armenia (NAHUA), noted in an interview with us, if earlier there was actually stagnation in the field of sheep breeding, then after 2019 there was a serious activation.
“The best period for the sphere can be considered the 80s of the last century, when we recorded the highest indicators of the sphere and there were over 1.5 million heads of small cattle, the vast majority of them sheep. However, after the collapse of the USSR and the privatization of state farms, the livestock began to decline from year to year and is now kept at about 750-770 thousand heads. As part of the implementation of the state program to assist the development of sheep and goat breeding, Armenian farmers have managed to significantly increase the export of animals. Plus, to slightly increase the level of self—sufficiency in the production of mutton,” our interlocutor said.
Increase the level of self-sufficiency
However, in terms of self—sufficiency, which means food security, it is too early to talk about great successes. The fact is, the head of the Department of Animal Husbandry of the NAHUA continued, that according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the average person should consume about 70 kg of meat and meat products per year. Unfortunately, in our country today, only meat and meat products are produced in the range of 30-35 kg.
“That is, in the context of self-sufficiency, this indicator does not even reach half, therefore, per person, we do not yet provide the required level of consumption. In this regard, the implementation of the Green Agriculture Initiative in Armenia program played an important role, contributing to an increase in the number of livestock and giving another opportunity for the country to expand its export markets and increase its food security,” T. Chitchyan outlined the essence of the case.
We are talking about the largest and multicomponent program funded by the European Union to promote the agricultural sector — the “Green Agriculture Initiative in Armenia” (EU – GAIA), officially launched in 2020 with coverage of the Shirak, Lori and Tavush regions. The program was co-funded and implemented by the Austrian Development Agency and partly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Armenian Government’s partner in the program was the Ministry of Economy.
The total cost of the program was about 12 million euros. Of these, about 2 million euros were allocated for the development of sheep breeding, which allowed us to apply European experience in this area in our country. Suffice it to say that within the framework of this component implemented by UNDP in Armenia, more than 400 heads of highly productive sheep breeds were imported into our country and distributed among the beneficiary farmers of the program.
Unpretentious Blanche
Today, as Karen Harutyunyan, coordinator of the sheep breeding development component, explained in an interview with us, this number has already doubled, since the imported sheep, mainly of the French Blanche breed, have adapted quite well to the conditions in Armenia.
This is understandable, given that Blanche sheep are a rustic breed that can adapt to arid conditions, as well as to a more continental mountain climate. The place of origin of the Blanche breed is considered to be a large mountainous region of the south of the Massif Central of France, which is dominated by arid areas with rocky, poor soil and with a harsh climate — cold snowy winters and hot dry summers. Well, just like we have in Armenia — with its mountain ranges, rocks and volcanic rocks. Although, Blanche feels comfortable in any territories, including on plateaus and plains.
In fact, the main goal of this project was briefly to improve the breeding composition of animals, to have herds with high genetic potential, which in the future will contribute to increasing the profitability of sheep breeding.
“Our analysis showed that the majority of farmers who contacted us had the main problem with meat varieties of sheep. The fact is that according to the classification there are sheep of meat breeds, dairy and wool sheep. Our local varieties of sheep in general seem to combine everything together — so to speak, meat-milk-wool. But at the same time, they are not particularly productive in any of these areas, since their meat indicators are quite low, the value of milk is not so high, plus wool is not of high quality. In addition, the rate of weight gain is slow in comparison with those varieties that are considered to be meat breeds,” the representative of the UNDP in Armenia outlined the essence of the matter.
Farmers appreciated the effect
Unlike local breeds, French Blanche sheep gain weight quickly and are considered a meat breed. For comparison: adult sheep weigh from 60 kg to 80 kg, and adult sheep from 90 kg to 140 kg. As for wool, the average weight of rams is from 1.5 to 2.5 kg, sheep from 1.1 to 1.5 kg.
According to the project experts, the profitability of the Blanche breed is 3.8 times higher than that of the most common local sheep breeds in Armenia. By the way, the quality of their meat, as K.Harutyunyan assures, is also much better — without the specific smell that is inherent in local breeds. At least in France, the quality of this breed of meat is highly appreciated, and it is very popular in halal stores.
“Our most important achievement is that thanks to the implementation of this program, sheep breeding in Armenia has reached a qualitatively new level and many Armenian farmers have a huge interest in breeding Blanche sheep. Because they saw that the breeding of meat breeds is a very effective direction. At the same time, Blanche is not just a meat breed, but also very suitable for breeding on our pastures,” our interlocutor stated.
Having assessed the effect of Blanche breeding, farms have already begun to import this highly productive breed independently at their own expense. Today, about 450 heads have been acquired by a farm located in Kotayk, plus 500 heads by a farmer from Shirak. As a result, there are already more than 1250-1300 heads of highly productive French Blanche sheep in Armenia. And this is not the limit, since the private sector shows an extremely high interest in further increasing the number of sheep at the expense of Blanche sheep. Such a trend, according to experts of the sphere, will further expand export markets and increase the level of food security in Armenia in the future.
A source: https://e-cis.info/news/567/108971/
