The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched an emergency assistance program to support vulnerable groups in Armenia affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The project will be jointly implemented with the RA Ministry of Economy and the RA Food Safety Inspectorate by rapidly responding to the interventions realized by the RA Government.

The emergency assistance program of around $350,000 will provide beneficiaries with support packages, which include fodder, equipment, as well as resources needed to build or renovate henhouses, fertilizers, and vegetable seeds.

On February 17, 2021, the RA Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan and the FAO Representative in Armenia Raimund Jehle signed the program’s launching document.

“This program is one of the important components of the continuous cooperation of the RA Ministry of Economy and FAO, and we must work together to ensure that the support provided to farmers is not only transparent and targeted, but is also provided at the right time. Our Ministry is ready to fully support the implementation of this program as soon as possible”, said the Deputy Minister Arman Khojoyan.

The program also has a component of capacity building of beneficiaries, farmers, government staff, NGOs, and other stakeholders on raising the level of public awareness and practical knowledge, better identification of priority response actions in emergency situations, which will allow them to better and quickly orient themselves and recover from crisis.

Special criteria will be used to select the beneficiaries of the program, according to which the focus will be on women, children, and elderly, as well as families hosting displaced people.

At all stages of the program implementation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations will closely cooperate with the RA Ministry of Economy, the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and local self-governance bodies.

“The program is part of the UN’s program on emergency response to the conflict, which will address the immediate needs of vulnerable people affected by the conflict, in particular improving food security and nutrition. However, in addition to the above, greater support is needed for the coming agricultural season”, said Raimund Jehle, the FAO Representative in Armenia.