CIVIL SOCIETY > ARMENIA
Helping vulnerable families grow healthy Growing more healthy crops www.enpi-info.eu sounds simple enough, but for several displaced families in Armenia’s Ararat province with no agricultural knowledge or experience, this hardly seemed like an attainable goal. However, thanks to the EU funded Rural Income Generation project, since 2011 a number of refugee families in the village of Sis have been provided with the skills to grow food. This was made possible through the application of the Mittleider gardening method, which is adapted for small family plots and combines greenhouse and gardening tecniques. At the end of the process the villagers – many of whom are former city inhabitants displaced within rural areas - were able to increase their harvest rates twofold or even threefold. An EU Neighbourhood Info Centre journalist visited one of the beneficiary communities… Text by Aghavni Harutyunyan Pictures by AFP © EU Neighbourhood INFO CENTRE
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SIS – “Broccoli is high in vitamin C and has some other very useful components which N Karine Grigoryan harvests broccoli at her kitchen garden in I do not remember” – Anahit, aged six, and 10-year-old Gor share their knowledge of the Armenian village of Sis. the vegetables grown by their grandmother Fenya. An unfamiliar vegetable among the families of the Sis community in Armenia’s Ararat province before the implementation of the ‘Rural Income Generation Project’, broccoli has become one of the favourite greens on the dinner table. Through this EU-funded project, the community has received training and support to cultivate their plots of land by using efficient gardening technology and applying organic fertilisers. EU Neighbourhood Info Centre “They like it very much – with eggs, without eggs, simply boiled. Salads Feature no. 115 and dishes with broccoli have become regular on our table, while be- This is a series of features on fore we had just seen this plant in the markets, with no idea about how projects funded by the EU Regional Programme, prepared by journalists to use it,” adds grandmother Fenya Gasparyan, 65, emphasising that and photographers on the ground children also adore small and funny tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, or the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre. © 2014 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre beans, to mention just a few. “Grandma made pickled broccoli, but we prefer fresh vegetables,” says Gor.
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Helping vulnerable families grow healthy
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Improving living conditions
“By helping vulnerable families increase their income, we help children live in an economically viable environment and get healthy food”
Working in partnership with the Human Dignity and Peace (HDP) Foundation in a project funded by the European Union, Save the Children has been implementing the ‘Rural Income Generation Project’ with the ultimate goal of reducing poverty. In December 2011 the project started its activities in Sis, Khachpar, Hayanist and Nizami, four communities in Armenia’s Ararat province mainly populated by Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan. These rural areas are now home to former city dwellers who had never cultivated the land, and lacked any agricultural knowledge or skills, The transformation was made possible by the application of efficient agricultural techniques. The Mittleider gardening method combines elements of hydroponics the method of growing plants in water using mineral nutrient solutions without soil - greenhouse and gardening technologies, and is adapted for small family plots and aimed at inexperienced gardeners and farmers. The method works to maximise the yields from each square metre of the land. The process begins in greenhouses, then the healthiest and most potent seedlings are transplanted to the plots. The technology utilises wires and T-frames for vertical growth of plants, in order to save space. While the process promotes better crop rotation, in this case one winter season is not enough for a full recovery of the soil, and so organic fertiliser that helps the soil to recover its fertility is used. Implementing these new gardening methods saw a doubling compared to traditional methods in the volume of crop produced in the total area of 7,500 square metres owned by these households. The 50 households taking part in the project were provided with vegetable seeds and cultivation tools, as well as organic fertilisers and educational materials with tips on disease and pest control techniques. The project has also developed a manual entitled “Marketing Strategy of High-Value Vegetables” to assist households in its implementation. Two cooperatives have been established and joint operation agreements have been signed in two communities in order to sell the produce. In 2012, two harvests were produced from the project land plot, and one in 2013. In comparison to the 2011 baseline, the average crop obtained from the same plot was more than four times greater in in 2012 and more than two times greater in 2013. Karine Grigoryan, 52, is from another of the 10 beneficiary families of the Sis community. “Thanks to the project, my children and grandchildren can have access to very healthy food. Even though marketing is still a problem, I am thankful for the opportunity to study how and what should be done for increasing the harvest rates,” says Karine. According to Karine, the training was very useful in deepening the participants’ understanding of agricultural processes and also in informing them of how best to overcome potential challenges. “As a result, our harvest exceeded all my expectations,” she confesses. The training sessions were varied and focused on providing participants with skills on new gardening technologies, marketing and finance management as well as on creating local agronomists – experts in the science of the cultivation of land, soil management, and crop production. Training on issues of healthy nutrition was organised for all family members, including women and children.
“Thanks to the project, my children and grandchildren can have access to very healthy food”
N Children proudly showing their harvest in the community of Khachpar : this is the winning picture of the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre photo competition “Put your project in the headlines!”.
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Breaking stereotypes is a long process
“New technologies and new ways of addressing routine work are challenged by stereotypes: breaking them is a long process”
Irina Saghoyan, Save the Children Armenia Country Director, believes that the financial benefits of the project are essential because if a family has enough income, children are better taken care of. “We are committed to creating lasting change for children, and we remain faithful to our mission through this project. By helping vulnerable families increase their income, we help children live in an economically viable environment and get healthy food, which is an important precondition for being healthy, educated and protected,” she says. According to Ms Saghoyan, the ideal lifespan of such types of projects is 22 months. “The people need consistent support. New technologies and new ways of addressing routine work are challenged by stereotypes and breaking them is a long process - it requires time and effort,” she says. Even though the project is now over, the cooperatives created by the project will offer more opportunities for villagers. The cooperatives were provided with equipment to help dealing with issues that are not possible for individuals to deal with alone. Dry food processing plants established as part of the project are set to help raise family incomes by enabling farmers to increase off-season sales of food. “Operating the dry food processing plant is not about creating jobs. The primary goal is to cultivate more crops. Correct use and reprocessing of crops will increase production and quality, and it will be possible to sell processed products at a higher price, thus helping vulnerable families to increase their income,” says Irina Saghoyan. And in increasing their income, they also become healthier along the way.
N Dry food processing plants are set to help raise family incomes by enabling farmers to increase off-season sales of food.
Rural Income Generation Project The general goal is to reduce poverty through application of efficient agricultural technologies. www.facebook.com/SavetheChildrenArmenia The project covers four vulnerable communities of Ararat Province: Khachpar, Hayanist, Sis and Nizami villages. The 50 households involved in the project received training and support to cultivate their plots of land by using efficient gardening technology and applying organic fertilisers. The method works to maximise the yields from each square metre of the land. The process begins in greenhouses, then the healthiest and most potent seedlings are transplanted to the plots. The technology utilises wires and T-frames for vertical growth of plants, in order to save space. As a result, in the total area of 7500 square meters owned by the households, the volume of crop has doubled compared to traditional gardening methods. Find out more Save the Children Armenia Country Office www.facebook.com/SavetheChildrenArmenia EU Neighbourhood Info Centre country page: ARMENIA www.enpi-info.eu/countryeast.php?country=56 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre: EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH www.enpi-info.eu/themeeast.php?subject=11
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