VARDENIS AND CHAMBAR A K REGIONS OF GEGHARKUN I K MARZ: CURRENT SITUAT I O N AND PERSPECTIVES FOR DEVELOPMENT © ADVANCED SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES YEREVAN, 2005 WWW.AST.AM Author Anna Minasyan Edited by Elmira Bartelsian Cover designed by Web Studio Text designed by AST Anna Minasyan Vardenis and Chambarak regions of Gegharkunik marz: Current Situation and Perspectives for Development, Yerevan, 2005, 66 p. Gegharkunik marz differs from other regions of Armenia with large number of refugees who populate small mountainous villages. Poverty and vulnerability are particularly dire in remote rural areas of Chambarak and Vardenis regions. This publication covers the results of sociological research carried out by Advanced Social Technologies in March-November 2004 in 32 poorest settlements of Chambarak and Vardenis. Combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection allowed for needs assessment of the population, in-depth multi-dimensional situation analysis and elaboration of a long-term community development strategy for the regions of concern. The publication can be used by Local Self-Governing Bodies, community development organizations, Mass Media and other interested readers. © Advanced Social Technologies NGO, 2005 © Anna Minasyan, 2005 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 5 SURVEY METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 5 Opinion Poll ............................................................................................................... 5 Participatory Rural Appraisal .................................................................................... 7 In-depth Interviews ...................................................................................................... 7 Focus Groups .............................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL OVERVIEW ...................................................... 7 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITIES ........................................................ 7 Gegharkunik Marz .................................................................................................... 7 Vardenis Region ......................................................................................................... 8 Chambarak Region ..................................................................................................... 9 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE RESPONDENTS ...................................................... 10 Age-Gender Distribution .......................................................................................... 10 Occupation ................................................................................................................ 11 Education ................................................................................................................. 11 Proportion of Local Population and Refugees ............................................................. 11 Household Size ......................................................................................................... 12 Monthly Household Income ....................................................................................... 13 DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS.................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2. INFRASTRUCTURES ........................................................ 18 IRRIGATION .................................................................................................................. 18 POTABLE WATER ........................................................................................................ 19 ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS ........................................................................... 19 TELEPHONE LINES ..................................................................................................... 20 ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION ............................................................................... 22 Roads ........................................................................................................................ 22 Public Transport ....................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 3. AGRICULTURE ................................................................. 23 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES ..................................................................................... 23 Land Plots ................................................................................................................ 23 Seeds, Insecticides and Fertilizers ............................................................................... 26 Agricultural Machinery ............................................................................................. 27 BRANCHES OF AGRICULTURE ................................................................................... 28 Main Branches .......................................................................................................... 28 Land Cultivation ...................................................................................................... 29 Animal Husbandry .................................................................................................. 32 THE PROFITABILITY OF AGRICULTURE .................................................................. 33 The Profitability of Plant-Growing ............................................................................ 34 The Profitability of Animal Husbandry .................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 4. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS........................................... 36 NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS .................................................................. 36 THE LEVEL OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ............................................................. 37 3 CHAPTER 5. LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND MASS MEDIA ................. 38 COMMUNAL AUTHORITIES ........................................................................................ 38 MARZ AUTHORITIES ................................................................................................... 41 MASS MEDIA ................................................................................................................ 43 CHAPTER 6. PROBLEMS AND NEEDS ................................................ 46 PROBLEMS AND NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITIES ................................................... 46 NEEDS AND PROBLEMS OF SELECTED SOCIAL GROUPS ..................................... 50 Problems of the Refugees ............................................................................................ 51 Needs and Problems of Women and Children ........................................................... 52 Needs of the Youth.................................................................................................... 52 Needs of the Elderly Population ................................................................................ 52 CASE STUDIES .............................................................................................................. 53 Vardenis ................................................................................................................... 54 Arpunk .................................................................................................................... 55 Geghamasar .............................................................................................................. 56 Mets Masrik............................................................................................................. 57 Kutakan ................................................................................................................... 58 Torfavan ................................................................................................................... 59 Tretuk ...................................................................................................................... 60 Tretuk ...................................................................................................................... 60 Ttujur ....................................................................................................................... 61 Getik ........................................................................................................................ 61 Martuni .................................................................................................................... 62 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................ 63 4 INTRODUCTION Gegharkunik marz occupies 18% of Armenia’s territory and is the largest marz in the country. Gegharkunik is also the neediest marz of Armenia. According to UNDP estimates, a considerable part of Armenia’s vulnerable population is concentrated in Gegharkunik marz: every 4 persons out of 10 are poor or extremely poor. Severe social and economic conditions are more intensely reflected in bordering Vardenis and Chambarak regions of Gegharkunik. This situation is conditioned by a number of factors, one of which is that many communities of these regions are populated by refugees. Having emigrated from urban settlements of Azerbaijan and mainly from Baku, the majority of inhabitants of these communities have no experience in agriculture. The main objectives