Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in Armenia Country study report 2019 Regional TCP on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms (TCP/RER/3601) Smallholders and family farms in Armenia Country study report 2019 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Budapest, 2020 Required citation: FAO. 2020. Smallholders and family farms in Armenia. Country study report 2019. Budapest. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9823en The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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Contents Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations and acronyms ix Executive summary xi Structural analysis and qualitative description of the sector xiii Current political priorities and policies affecting smallholders and family farms xv Conclusions and recommendations xvi Ամփոփ նկարագիր xix Ոլորտի կառուցվածքային վերլուծություն և որակական նկարագրություն xxi Ներկա քաղաքական առաջնահերթությունները և փոքր ֆերմերային և ընտանեկան գյուղացիական տնտեսությունների վրա ներգործող քաղաքականությունը xxv Եզրակացություններ և առաջարկություններ xxv 1. Introduction to smallholders and family farms and their role in Europe and Central Asia 1 1.1 Background for the Regional Initiative supporting smallholders and family farms 3 1.2 Background and objectives of the present country study 4 2. Methodology and approach 7 2.1 The overall methodological principles of the Regional TCP on smallholders and family farms 9 2.2 Approach – Description of the specific approach taken in Armenia 11 3. Development trends and the current state of smallholders and family farms in Armenia 13 3.1 Definition of ‘smallholder’ and/or ‘family farm’ in the national context 15 3.2 Structural analysis and a qualitative description of the sector 16 3.2.1 Development of the importance of smallholders and family farms in the economy in the period 2005–2015 20 3.2.2 Agricultural land market and property rights 35 3.2.3 Value chain organization, standards and access to markets 38 3.2.4 Access to finance 42 3.2.5 Access to services 47 3.2.6 Education, research & development, and innovation in the agricultural sector, specifically related to smallholders 56 3.3 Environmental and nature development/climate change 61 3.4 Rural areas: population and economy 65 4. Current political priorities and policies affecting smallholders and family farms 77 4.1 Sector- and focus-area-specific political priorities for agriculture and rural development 79 4.1.1 National policy related to smallholders 79 4.1.2 Donor-funded policies related to smallholders 82 4.1.3 FAO Country Programming Framework 85 4.2 Preconditions for comprehensive policymaking for smallholders and family farms 86 5. Conclusions and recommendations 89 5.1 Conclusions 91 5.1.1 Role and weight in the economy of smallholders and family farms 91 5.1.2 Needs, challenges and constraints 91 5.1.3 State of play of policy 96 5.2 Recommendations 97 5.2.1 Policy recommendations 97 iii References 107 6. Annex 119 6.1 Case studies 121 6.1.1 Raspberries in Ashotavan 121 6.1.2 Challenges of cooperation and cooperative legislation 123 6.1.3 The dream of Kalavan 124 6.1.4 Farm consolidation 126 6.1.5 Joint advocacy for rural development 128 6.1.6 Challenges of introduction of high-value crops 130 6.2 Tables 132 Tables 1. Number of peasant farms in Armenia, 1995–2005 16 2. Main macroeconomic indicators and agriculture in Armenia 21 3. Age and gender distribution of those involved in agriculture for 7–12 months 23 4. Income for selected farm produce per hectare 24 5. Gross agricultural output in Armenia for 2005–2015 by types of producers and by animal husbandry and plant growing, at current prices in billions AMD 25 6. Agriculture, forestry and fishery land distribution by ownership type in Armenia, 2016 27 7. Distribution of agricultural land by category of use, status of irrigation and type of ownership, 2016 (in ha and percent) 28 8. Distribution of agricultural lands available in Armenia per type, thousand hectares 29 9. Number and size of farms, by size category 30 10. Distribution of agricultural lands among family farms, by size 30 11. Value of external trade of agrifood in Armenia, 2005–2015, millions USD 31 12. Land alienation in Armenia, 2005, 2010, 2015 36 13. Distribution of registered sellers of agrochemicals by region, as of August 2017 49 14. Volume of fertilizers imported to Armenia, 2005–2016, tons 49 15. Prices of subsidized fertilizers and fuel for farmers in 2015 51 16. Amount of subsidized inputs and number of beneficiaries in the framework of the government programmes, 2012–2016 52 17. Availability of working-order agricultural machinery/equipment among farmers, along with their usage and demand 54 18. Gross expenditures on research and agricultural research in Armenia, 2005–2015 60 19. Vulnerability of regions in Armenia to extreme weather events 64 20. Age structure in rural Armenia (de jure), as of January 2015 66 21. Sources of household income in rural communities, 2008–2015, percent 69 22. Basic poverty indicators of Armenia, 2008 and 2015, % 71 A1.1 Family farms by region and types of agricultural activities 132 A1.2. Family farms and holdings by region 133 A1.3. Agricultural specialization by region among family farms 134 A1.4. Average annual labour resources and agricultural employment in Armenia in 2014–2015, thousands of people 136 A1.5. Volume of output for the main agricultural products by family farms and commercial organizations, 2005–2015, thousands of tons 137 A1.6. Export statistics of Armenia for 2005–2015 and subdivisions of exported agrifood goods according to SITC (Rev 4) categories 141 A1.7. Import statistics of Armenia for 2005–2015 and subdivisions of imported agrifood goods according to SITC (Rev 4) categories 142 iv A1.8. List of vocational educational institutions providing education in agricultural specializations 143 A1.9. Average per capita monthly nominal income in rural households from each source, in USD 145 Figures 1. Distribution of family farms by region 18 2. Distribution of family farms by area of owned and rented lands 19 3. Family farms by size of owned and rented agricultural lands, per region 20 4. Average monthly nominal wage vs. wage in agriculture in Armenia, 2005–2015 24 5. Gross output for fishery and forestry sectors at current prices in billions AMD 26 6. Value and volume of main agrifood exports 33 7. Value and volume of main agrifood imports, percent 34 8. Total loans and agricultural loans by commercial banks and universal credit organizations, 2011–2015 (end of the period) 43 9. Agricultural loans in foreign and local currencies by commercial banks, 2005–2015 44 10. Foreign and local currency loans by commercial banks and universal credit organizations in 2015 44 11. Rural population trends, 2005–2016 65 12. Remittances and net monetary transfers, 2005–2015 67 13.