ReportNo. 13034-AM Armenia Agriculture and Food SectorReview (In Two Volumes) Volume II: SubsectoralAnalyses and StatisticalAnnex February6, 1995 Public Disclosure Authorized Natural ResourcesManagement Division Country Department IV Europeand Central Asia Region Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Documentof theWorld Bank Public Disclosure Authorized CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency unit - Ruble (R) US$ 1 = R 684 (March 1993) US$ 1 = R 2,600 (October 1993) Currency unit - Dram (D) - Introduced November 22, 1993 US$ 1 = D 14 (November 1993) US$ 1 = D 408 (January 1994) WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Metric System ABBREVIATIONS Al Artificial Insemination AU Animal Unit CFM Collective Farmer's Market CMEA Council of Mutual Economic Assistance CPF Collective Peasant Farms CSO Cooperative Support Organization CSQC State Commission for Seed Quality Control CST Commission for Seed Tests DBH Diameter at Breast Height DWSI Department of Water Supply and Irrigation EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EU European Union FSU Former Soviet Union FU Feed Unit GDP Gross Domestic Product GIS Geographic Information Systems GNP Gross National Product HICOOP Armenian Consumers Union MOA Ministry of Agriculture MOF Ministry of Food and Procurement NMP Net Material Product NPO Scientific Production Associations NTB Non Tariff Barrier O&M Operation & Maintenance OME Operation and Maintenance Enterprises RSC Rural Service Cooperative TA Technical Assistance TCFP Target-Oriented Comprehesive Food Production Program USDA United States Department of Agriculture VAT Value Added Tax WUA Water Users' Association CONTENTS - VOLUME II: SUBSECTORAL ANALYSES VIII. AGRICULTURAL RESOURCE BASE AND CROP PRODUCTION ...... - 1 A. LAND ....................................... 1 B. IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ..... 3 C. CROP PRODUCTION ............................ 10 D. CROP INPUTS ................................ 22 IX. LIVESTOCK SECTOR .35 A. LIVESTOCK POPULATION AND PRODUCTION .35 B. LIVESTOCK PERFORMANCE AND FEEDING EFFICIENCY ... 37 C. THE FEED BASE .38 D. MAJOR PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 41 E. LIVESTOCK SUPPORT SERVICES .46 F. LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION CONSUMPTION AND DEMAND . 48 G. ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION .49 X. AGRO-PROCESSING ENTERPRISES . .53 A. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING SECTOR .54 B. DAIRY AND MILK INDUSTRIES .58 C. MEAT PROCESSING .60 D. THE MIXED FEED INDUSTRY .61 E. FLOUR MILLING INDUSTRY .62 F. WINERIES AND BRANDY PLANTS .63 G. RECOMMENDATIONS .64 XI. FORESTRY AND ENVIRONMENT .. 67 A. FORESTRY .67 B. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES .74 XI. STATISTICAL ANNEX .81 BOXES: 8.1 Soil Composition. 1 8.2 Main Vegetable Areas .14 11.1 Seabuckthorn. 69 FIGURES: 8.1 Land on Slopes. 1 8.2 Crop Areas .14 8.3 Tobacco Area and Production.15 8.4 Fruit Crop Areas and Production.16 8.5 Vineyard Areas and Grape Production.17 8.6 Seed Productionof Cereals .23 8.7 Mineral Fertilizer Supply .25 8.8 Crop Nutrient Ratios ............................ 25 8.9 Use of Pesticides ........... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 28 8.10 Agricultural Machine Delivery ....... 31 10.1 Raw Product Deliveries to MOF Canneries ...... 56 11.1 Budget Allocations to Forestry Operations ............... 68 11.2 Income from Forestry Sector Operations ................ 68 11.3 Agricultural Land Use ......... .. .. .. .. .. 74 TABLES: 8.1 Monthly and Annual Rainfall ........ .. 1 8.2 Irrigations Methods ........... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 8.3 Annual Volume of Runoff by Region ....... 4 8.4 Historical Regional Cropping Patterns ...... 10 8.5 Recommended Crop Rotations ....... 11 8.6 Outputs of Cereals in Armenia ....... 12 8.7 Food Production Program . 18 8.8 Average Seedv.a.e.Sed.Ra Rates . ......... ................. t es 23 8.9 CropCrop Response Response toto Fertilizer Fertilizer . ... 26 8.10 Optimal Pesticide Use .28 8.11 Machinery PrivatizedM.h.n.r.Pri . ........................vti z e d 32 9.1 Livestock PopulationL.e.t.c.Po . ........................p u ati o n 35 9.2 Livestock Numbersi.e.t.k.Nu . ............................ m b e r s 36 9.3 Output ofof Dairy Dairy andand Meat Meat Products Products .Output 36 9.4 SuppliesSupplies ofo Forage-Feed f Forage-Feed . ... 39 9.5 Per Capita Consumption of Major Livestock Products .48 9.6 Actual and Profitable Farmgate Prices . 50 10.1 Design Capacity and Utilization .53 10.2 Canning Industry Capacity and Utilization .55 10.3 Sausage Plant Capacity and Utilization .61 10.4 Semi-Finished Meat Product Plant Capacity and Utilization .61 10.5 Production of Wine . 63 10.6 Wine and Spirit Production .64 11.1 Land Erodability in Several Regions of Armenia .71 11.2 Physical Characteristics of Lake Sevan .76 11.3 Reservoirs Designed to Contribute to Lake Sevan Solution .77 11.4 Annual Pesticide Use by Region .78 CHAPTER 8 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES BASE AND CROP PRODUCTION A. LAND 8.1 Armenia covers a total area of about 29,740 kin2, an area approximatelyequal to the size of Maryland. It is landlocked,lies between 390 and 410 north and 440 and 460, and occupies some of the most rugged and earthquake-proneterritory of the Caucasusregion. It borders Azerbaijanto the east and south, Georgia to the north, and Turkey and Iran to the west and south across the Araks River. Elevation and Climate 8.2 Agriculturein Armenia, as in any country, is greatly influencedby its ARMEN1A climate, elevation, and slope of its cultivatedland, and condition of its soils. Its cultivated land lies between 6000 to 2,500 elevation. Only about 28% of the / land is located below 1,500 m elevation 7 and only 10% below 1,000 m (Figure 8.1). Much of the cultivated land is in narrow, fertile valleys arnong the mountains. The / > 30 broad flat and fertile Ararat valley along the left bank of the Araks river includes 0-30 important cultivatedland . 12-20 TopographicalZones and Agro-ecological Regions Source: Agricultural Atls. J964 8.3 The country is divided into Figure8.1 two major watersheds, the river basin of Kuri river in the north-east, and the basin of the Araks river in the south-west. The Araks river basin comprisesabout four fifth of the country, while the Kuri basin occupiesabout one fifth. Agroclimatically Armenia is divided into six regions, some of which are further split into subregions (see Map at end of report). Only two of the subregionsbelong to the Kuri River watershed; the other subregionsdrain into the Araks River watershed. 8.4 Crop growing periods range from 100 to 220 days and rainfall varies between 200 mm in the plains to over 1,000 mm in the mountains. A harsh continentalclimate (annual temperatures average 10°C in Yerevan at 1,000 m asl, and 4°C in Sevan at 1,925 m asl) limits grape and fruit productionto lower lying areas, while upland regionsare planted mainly in winter and spring cereals and fodders. Some 80% of all agriculturalproduction comes from the lower lying areas, particularlyfrom the Ararat Plain. Low relative humiditiesand high sunshine hours during the growing season create a favorableenvironment for crop growth, with relatively low incidenceof diseases and pests. 2 Chapter 8 8.5 Unless irrigated, agriculturalproduction is generally considered untenable for all areas receiving less than 300 mm during the growing season. The total annual precipitationand its seasonal distributionvaries widely among regions (Table 8.1). All grape and fruit production,70% of vegetable growing, and 44% of fodder lands are irrigated, while only 26% of the cereal area is irrigated. Marked variation in year-to-yearannual precipitationcan occur, giving rise to considerablevariation in rainfed crop production. Hail and dry winds are frequent during the crop growing season. Only about 29% of Armenia's territory has slopes less than 30, another 27% has slopes of up to 70, and the rest of the land is steeper (Figure 8.1). Table 8.1: Monthly and Annual Rainfall (mm) Stations Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Yerevan 23 25 30 41 50 25 14 11 14 26 27 25 312 (Ararat Valley, 900 m) Leninakan 22 25 30 62 87 70 47 32 30 32 32 21 490 (NW area, 1,600m) Sevan 23 30 40 68 95 73 48 40 36 56 49 40 598 (Sevan Lake Area, 1,900 m) Source: FAD 8.6 Althoughagricultural land totals 1.4 million ha, only about 534,000 ha are A CoUproS considered arable (1991). Armenia has a great varietyof soils, including14 genetic soil groups, SoilTypes Area Area 42 soil types and some 140 sub-types. About 000h half of the arable land is fertile chemozemsand Cimamnonicforest 79.0 13.9 another 14% is reasonablyfertile chestnutsoils; however, only about one third of the chernozems Chernozems 270.3 47.5 and one fifth of the chestnut soil have a deep Meadow-chernozem 8.0 1.4 humic horizon, while the rest are medium deep Chsnt 82.0 14.4 or shallow. Deeper agriculturalsoils are found generally in the plains areas of the Ararat valley Brownsemidesert 42.0 7.4 and in smaller valleys of the northeast and irriga meadow-brown 53.0 9.3 southeast (Box 8.1). Alluvial-terre 27.0 4.7 Other 7.7 2.4 Total 569.0 100.0 Box 8.1 Agricultural Resources Base and Crop Production 3 B. IRRIGATIONAND WATER RESOURCEDEVELOPMENT 8.7 Armenia has a long history of irrigation. Although about 100,000 ha were irrigated fifteencenturies ago, only about half of that area was still irrigated at the beginningof the century. Until recentlypractically all of the area equippedfor irrigation(the commandarea) has been irrigated. Because of the lack of energy, spare parts, pump replacements, and the war effects (when 18,400 ha were abandoned)the intensityof irrigation has declined by about 8%, compared with that of 1990. 8.8 Irrigation supplementsrainfall and varies between 2,000 to 10,000 m3/ha/year. Design delivery capacities(measured at the outlets) are generally about 0.85 I/s. Overall water use efficiency, from water source to crop, for gravity systems is not more than 30 to 35 % of use.