WECF and AWHHE Project Report July 2005
Prospects for Organic Agriculture in three Armenian villages. A way out of poverty for rural populations?
18.07.2005 |Gero Fedtke
Agriculture expert Manuk Harutyunyan (right) with farmers in their orchard
By: Gero Fedtke, WECF Caucasus and Central Asia Coordinator
Two experts on organic agriculture, Manuk Harutyunyan (Armenia) and Wolfgang Raddatz (Germany / Romania) have visited the three project villages in Armenia together with AWHHE and WECF staff from 28 – 30 June 2005, as a part of the poverty reduction project of WECF financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs TMF program. Assessing possibilities for organic agriculture in these villages, they met with local farmers and together with them visited fields and orchards and discussed ways to introduce or improve (organic) farming methods. Good organic agricultural practices raise crop production through the use of organic fertilizer, crop rotation and biological methods of pest control. One aim of the visit was to raise the awareness of farmers on the value these methods. Conventional agriculture is known as having possible negative influences on water resources through nitrogen and pesticide residues. Organic agriculture is the best prevention method.
On 1 July 2005, AWHHE organized a round table discussion with farmers from the villages and representatives of Armenian NGOs promoting organic agriculture. Participants were enthusiastic about the effort to bring people and knowledge together. Products labeled „organic“ are popular in Armenia and a demand for them clearly exists.
At the same time organic agriculture as a concept with defined standards is in an early stage of development, being put into effect mostly in pilot projects. So far no certification body exists.
The Soviet years of extensive agriculture with heavy use of pesticides and artificial fertilizer have in many cases destroyed any equilibrium in the agro-ecosystem. The crisis years since the breakup of the Soviet Union have had a twofold effect: on the one hand the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizer has been reduced largely due to the collapse of the Kolkhoz/Sovkhoz – System and the widespread poverty of the now independent farmers. At the same time, this very poverty makes farmers dry animal manure to use as fuel for heating in winter instead of applying it as a fertilizer to their fields because they cannot afford to pay for gas.
Crop rotation is not used as farmers feel forced to plant wheat every year in the same place in order to produce food for their own survival, while the harvest yield becomes ever smaller due to missing crop rotation, missing organic fertilizing and shortage of irrigation water.
Dried manure for use as heating fuel in a village homestead. Valuable nutrients are thus burnt instead of used in agriculture.
Organic farming offers long term solutions to some of the above mentioned problems, e.g. a recovery of the soil will lead to a better water absorption capability and thus counter the negative effects of reduced irrigation, effectively increasing the harvest without enhancing off-farm input. Studied agronomists are living and working in each village, and they have the necessary knowledge and skills at their command. Some farmers are effectively practicing organic farming already, while others still use pesticides, often without proper handling.
Mayors and agronomists welcomed the idea to start a planned and consequent conversion to organic farming methods on selected fields as demonstration plots for their villages. Both experts (Raddatz and Harutyunyan) will develop plans, assist with their implementation and monitor the progress. AWHHE and WECF facilitate this process.
Wolfgang Raddatz (left) talking to farmers in the Armenian village Fantan
AWHHE has conducted complementary activities to this approach. Thus, it has successfully lobbied the state committee for water resources to improve and extend the current irrigation system in the village Hayanist in a joint effort together with the villagers and AWHHE. The committee has already begun to clean the drainage channels in Hayanist and its environs. This will not only improve the preconditions for successful farming in the village, where a good drainage system is especially important because of relatively high soil salinity and groundwater levels. At the same time, the cleanup of the drainage channels is a contribution to prophylaxis against malaria, since malaria mosquitos are frequently breeding in the water of clogged drainage channels, which has lead to outbreaks especially in this region of Armenia and still poses a potential risk.
Irrigation drainage channels: after cleaning (left) and clogged and overgrown (right)
