Armenia's agriculture declines in 2019
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
The Armenian Cabinet of Ministers were disappointed by the agricultural indicators of 2019 as negative indicators of total gross agricultural output were observed in the country throughout the year, according to the data of Statistical Committee of Armenia.
The country’s agriculture decreased by 7.4 percent year-on-year in January-June. This indicator continued to fall by 4.8 percent, according to the results of three quarters.
Meanwhile, one of the first significant steps of the new Armenian government was the formation of a new cabinet structure, as a result of which 12 ministries were formed from 17. The purpose of this "revolutionary" innovation was to increase the effectiveness of the government.
However, the new government turned out to be as ineffective as the previous one. Pashinyan himself admitted this, saying at one of the cabinet’s last meetings in 2019: “We have large ministries with many unemployed people who care about one thing: when the time is right to go home.”
The structure optimization of the Armenian government was most strongly criticized precisely in terms of the abolition of the Ministry of Agriculture and the transfer of its functions to the Ministry of Economy. Chairman of the Agrarian-Peasant Union of Armenia Hrachya Berberyan believes that the first blow to agriculture was the closure of the Ministry of Agriculture. At the same time, the expert noted that the fall in this area in 2019, according to their estimates, is double the official figures.
“Armenia exported 56 tons of potatoes 4 years ago, and this year [2019] it began to import it from Belarus and some other countries,” Berberyan noted bitterly, seeing the intent to destroy the national economy.
Today, the main specialized structural units of the Ministry of Economy include 14 departments, however, department for food safety and agro-consulting, innovation and monitoring still do not have heads.
Thus, in such conditions it is difficult to expect effective activity of the Ministry of Economy of Armenia in the agricultural sector.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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