Agriculture

[Vrej1915]

Re: Agriculture

Եղանակային տատանումները գյուղատնտեսությանը չեն վնասել. Գառնիկ Պետրոսյան



Մարտ 22, 2013
Մարտի առաջին կեսին տեղի ունեցած եղանակային կտրուկ տատանումներն առայժմ գյուղատնտեսությանը վնաս չեն հասցրել: Այդ մասին այսօր` մարտի 22-ին լրագրողների հետ հանդիպման ժամանակ ասաց ՀՀ գյուղատնտեսության փոխնախարար Գառնիկ Պետրոսյանը:

Մասնավորապես` դիտարկումները ցույց են տալիս, որ Արարատյան դաշտի որոշ շրջաններում ծաղկած վաղահաս ծիրանիները եւ բացված խախողի տնկիները չեն տուժել: Բարեբախտաբար` չիրականացան նաեւ առատ տեղումների ու դրանց հետ կապված հեղեղումների վտանգները: Ըստ Գ. Պետրոսյանի` բարվոք վիճակում է նաեւ աշնանացանի ձմեռացման ընթացքը: Սակայն փոխնախարարը չհերքեց, որ մինչեւ ապրիլի վերջ դեռ եղանակային պայմանները կարող են անականկալներ մատուցել, ուստի դեռ վաղ է խոսել սպասվելիք բերքի մասին:

[Vrej1915]

Re: Agriculture

http://www.armenialiberty.org/media/photogallery/24939440.html

[Vrej1915]

Re: Agriculture

Ծիրանենին ցրտահարվել է, բայց վաղ է ասել, որ բերք չի լինի
Գրիշա Բալասանյան

13:24, 27 մարտի, 2013
Մարտի 24-ի լույս 25-ի գիշերը Արարատյան դաշտավայրում ջերմաստիճանը իջել էր -1 եւ տեղ-տեղ նույնիսկ -3 աստիճան, ինչը անհետեւանք չի կարող մնալ գյուղատնտեսության, հատկապես` պտղատու ծառերի վրա, քանի որ ջերմաստիճանի նվազումը համընկել է ծիրանենիների ծաղկման փուլի հետ: Ծիրանենին ծաղկել է Արմավիրի եւ Արարատի մարզերում, եւ մյուս մազերում կարծես թե մտահոգվելու առիթ չկա:

Գյուղատնտեսության փոխնախարար Գառնիկ Պետրոսյանը «Հետքի» հետ զրույցում ասաց, որ ցրտահարության օրն ինքն անձամբ է հեռուստատեսությամբ գյուղացիներին բացատրել, թե ինչպես կարելի է պաշտպանիչ միջոցառումներ կիրառելով բերքը փրկել: Գյուղնախարարը նույնպես եղել է մարզերում եւ խորհրդատուների ու մարզպետարանի վարչության պետերի մակարդակով բացատրական աշխատանքներ տարել:

«Բնականաբար, ինչպես հաճախ է պատահում, ոչ բոլորն են այդ խորհուրդներին հետեւել, բայց շատերը հետեւել են եւ ծխեցումով հնարավոր է մինչեւ 100 տոկոսանոց արդյունք ապահովել»,- ասաց Գառնիկ Պետրոսյանը:

Փոխնախարարի ասելով՝ աչքի համար որոշ հատվածներում ցրտահարությունն արդեն ակնհայտ է, բայց սպասվող բերքի վրա ինչպիսի՞ ազդեցություն կունենա` որեւէ մեկը չի կարող ասել:

Ըստ նրան` հազարավոր ծաղիկներից եթե նույնիսկ 5 տոկոսը պտուղ տա, ապա ռեկորդային բերք կստացվի: Բացի դրանից՝ չի բացառվում, որ ցրտահարությունը որոշակի ֆունկցիոնալ փոփոխություններ առաջացրած լինի, ասենք` ծաղիկը փարթամ աճի, փոշոտում կատարվի, սակայն հետագայում պտուղ չտա, կամ պտուղը չմեծանա ու թափվի:

Մոտ 20 օր հետո, երբ ավարտվի ծիրանենու ծաղկումը, եւ պտուղը աճի, այդ դեպքում հստակ կկարողանան գնահատական տալ:

«Այս պահին չեմ կարծում, որ լուրջ մտահոգությունների առիթ կա, որ կորուստներ կունենանք եւ այլն, բայց ի՞նչ չափով կլինի՝ պարզ կլինի ավելի ուշ: Բողբոջած ծառերի մասով վտանգ չկա, ցրտահարությունը սպառնում է հողին հնարավորինս մոտ գտնվող ծաղիկներին»,- ասաց փոխնախարարը:

Ըստ Հայպետհիդրոմետի տվյալներին՝ մինչեւ ամսի 31-ը բացասական ջերմաստիճան Արարատյան դաշտավայրում չի սպասվում: Գիշերը նվազագույնը կլինի +1 աստիճան, ինչը ցրտահարության վտանգ չի առաջացնում:

«Բայց վտանգը դեռ չի վերացել, տարիներ են եղել, որ մինչեւ ապրիլի 22-ը ցրտահարության դեպքեր են եղել, այնպես որ դեռ վաղ է կանխատեսել, թե վտանգն անցավ»,- ավելացրեց Գառնիկ Պետրոսյանը:

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Agriculture

http://www.armenialiberty.org/media/.../24939440.html

What are they? Almond trees? Cherry trees?

[Vrej1915]

Re: Agriculture

What are they? Almond trees? Cherry trees?

Apricot.

[londontsi]

Re: Agriculture

http://asbarez.com/109054/dangers-of-iran-land-lease-exposed/

Dangers of Iran Land Lease Exposed




A potential and controversial deal to lease 800,000 hectares of land in the Syunik Province to Iran to be used as grazing pastures for Iranian livestock has far-reaching geopolitical ramifications.

In an article by James Brooks for the Moscow Times environmentalists and activists denounce the Armenian government’s intention to lease such a large swath of land, expressing fears that the critical area bordering Iran and Azerbaijan on both sides could become populated by ethnic Iranians of Azeri descent.

Below is an excerpt from Brooks’ article for the Moscow Times.

The sheep would largely graze in Armenia’s southernmost region, Syunik. Long and as narrow as 30 kilometers wide in some places, Syunik is Armenia’s lifeline to Iran. But it is strategically vulnerable, sandwiched between two territories of Azerbaijan.

Although Syunik is Armenia’s xsecond-largest region, it is also one of its least populated. With 15 percent of Armenia’s land area, Syunik has less than 5 percent of Armenia’s people. The population dropped in the late 1980s after ethnic fighting forced an Azeri minority to flee to Azerbaijan and northern Iran.

Without a large local population to draw on, the Iranian sheep project would mean importing Iranian shepherds and possibly their families. Depending on the age of slaughter — for lamb or mutton — an annual export of 2.5 million sheep could mean an Iranian flock of 5 million sheep in southern Armenia. Given the region’s steep terrain, it would be hard for one shepherd to watch more than 500 sheep. So, back-of-the-envelope calculations point to as many as 10,000 Iranian shepherds. Where would the shepherds come from?

The memorandum of understanding was signed between Syunik and the neighboring Iranian region, a place with a name that sounds ominous to many Armenians — Eastern Atrapatakan, or Eastern Azerbaijan. With a population 20 times that of Syunik, Eastern Atrapatakan is a keystone for the northern Iran’s Azeri minority, about 17 million people.

The Iranian sheep deal could come with as many 10,000 ethnic Azeri shepherds, their families, and their watchdogs. But there is another wrinkle: Over the past 20 years, the withdrawal of Armenian shepherds from the mountain pastures has allowed the nation’s wolf population to surge. Armenian authorities now pay a $275 bounty for each wolf shot. So it stands to reason that Iranian shepherds would carry rifles to protect their flocks from wolves and other predators.

In a nutshell, Armenians say, the Iranian sheep deal would mean several thousand ethnic Azeri men, most of whom are armed with rifles, infiltrating into a strategic area.

“With the sheep, a couple of thousand people may come to Armenia, and may live in places that are strategically important for Armenia,” said Evoyan, the environmentalist. “It’s not only about the employment. As I said, it’s about the informal migration of other nationalities to Armenia that is not a strategically right choice for Armenia.”

“I remember how the Azerbaijanis were quietly taking control of Syunik during the Soviet years,” environmentalist Silva Adamyan told Armenia Now. “We have liberated it. And now, we want to give it to them again? Can’t we really understand that it is the same Azeris — citizens of Iran — who would be coming back to Syunik with their families, and so the blood we shed for those lands would turn out to be for nothing?”

[Mher]

Re: Agriculture

Armenians get arrested and sent to torture camps upon incidentally stepping on Azeri soil and Azeris are just welcomed in hoards by our government to come and take over our land.

UNBELIEVABLE

[Vrej1915]

Re: Agriculture

http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=88284

The numbers cited in this are much larger.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Agriculture

Armenia: Do Iran’s Sheep Pose a Threat to National Security?
March 29, 2013 ,
by Marianna Grigoryan

A pending agreement for Iran to graze sheep inside Armenia has sparked a furor among Armenian environmentalists and nationalists over whether or not the prospective deal poses a threat to the country’s national security.

Under the reported terms of the deal, Iran will acquire a five-year lease on 52,000 hectares of land in the strategic, southeastern border region of Syunik for the use of Iranian shepherds from the neighboring province of East Azerbaijan. In exchange, the government of East Azerbaijan will allegedly pay $25 per hectare (about $1.3 million) per year into the Syunik treasury for use of the land - about 11 percent of the region’s total territory - and supply Syunik with unspecified farm machinery. Iran will have the option to renew the lease for up to 10 years.

According to Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Raisi, however, no final agreement on the sheep has yet been signed. The proposal was first outlined last autumn by Iranian media, which claimed that Syunik Governor Suren Khachatrian and the government of East Azerbaijan had signed a memorandum of understanding.

At a February 18 press conference in Yerevan, Ambassador Raisi estimated that the agreement, which requires parliamentary confirmation, could take “about a year” to be completed. Armenian officials, for now, remain mostly mum.

Nonetheless, the debate over the issue is only growing hotter, with both territorial and environmental-economic concerns at the forefront.

The Iranian shepherds who would graze their flocks in Armenia are mostly ethnic Azeris. Another 2,000 hectares in Syunik would be set aside for their residences, according to reports. Armenian nationalists fear that, at the end of the five-year lease, the shepherds, together with their families, will refuse to leave.

History plays a role in prompting those fears. Syunik was the scene of fierce fighting between Armenians and Azerbaijanis after the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917. The territory was secured by Armenia shortly before the 1920 Soviet takeover of the country, but has since lost most of its remaining ethnic Azeri population.

For that reason, the prospect of “a significant number” of ethnic Azeris from Iran now moving into the area raises alarm bells for the extreme nationalist Armenian Aryan Union and Armenian Nationalists’ Union. In a joint statement on March 25, the two groups warned that the sheep deal “contains multiple threats, and if they are ignored, the state will face very serious challenges.”

Others, though, take stronger issue with what an influx of thousands of sheep would do to the region’s agricultural economy and to its environment.

While local officials say Syunik has “4,000-5,000 hectares of idle grazing areas” which can be leased and bring in much-needed cash, the administration head for the village of Kajaran, about 50 kilometers from the Iranian border, calls the notion of leasing pastures to Iran “absurd.”

"I don't know about other people, but I will never give away my land . . .” fumed Rafik Ataian. “The Iranians will bring their sheep to graze here just because they are giving us tractors? Where can we use these tractors if we give our land to them and the villagers leave the country?"

Ultimately, the sheep could destroy the leased pasture areas in Syunik, just as they have done already on the Iranian side of the border, agreed Hakob Sanasarian, head of the Greens Union of Armenia.

“In Soviet times, taking this factor into account, a special decision was taken to prevent grazing sheep [in Syunik] since eco-systems were destroyed,” Sanasarian said. Unlike cattle, he added, “sheep devastate grazing land with their hooves.”

Deputy Prime Minster Armen Gevorgian, who heads the Ministry of Territorial Administration, assured skeptics at a December 2012 press conference that “everything will be done” to guarantee the “most efficient use of all the pastures in Armenia” and to protect locals’ income, but did not provide specifics.

Environmental activists have since written to Gorik Hakobian, director of Armenia’s National Security Service, an investigative agency, and to National Security Council Secretary Artur Baghdasarian to express worries about the proposed sheep deal with Iran, but have not received a response. Officials were not available for comment.

No repercussions from the US or European Union, busy enforcing an embargo against Iran for its nuclear research program, are expected as a result of the sheep deal. Given Armenia’s precarious geopolitical situation, both Washington and Brussels generally turn a blind eye to the country’s various projects with Iran, political analyst Sergei Minasian commented.

“If the collaboration is not dangerous, meaning that it has nothing to do with the arms industry or other related fields, then it will not cause problems,” said Minasian, deputy director of Yerevan’s Caucasus Institute.

But that doesn’t make the questions, particularly from the outspoken nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation- Dashnaktsutiun, any less.

“How appropriate is the so-called independent activity of the local authorities? How profitable will the agreement be for the state, if it is signed?” an irritated Dashnak legislator, Aghvan Vardanian, queried parliament on February 5. “Or maybe the adjacent farms will lose as a result of the contract? What kind of political, psychological and environmental consequences will it bring?”

For now, the answers are few.

Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Agriculture

The Geopolitics of Sheep in an Armenian Region

The Moscow Times
27 March 2013
Issue 5097

By James Brooke

On the surface, it looks like a win-win. Iran faces a political
population bomb: a young, growing, urbanized population that wants
food - cheap and traditional. Iran's population has doubled in the
last 40 years, hitting 75 million people today. Half of all Iranians
are under 35 years of age, and 71 percent live in cities.

Immediately to the north lies help: the fallow grazing lands of
Armenia. Fewer Armenian men want to make a living as shepherds,
tending sheep on scenic but lonely mountain slopes. Armenia's
agriculture ministry says that 70 percent of the nation's pastures are
now without livestock - about 800,000 hectares.

Here's the deal: Iran's Ambassador to Armenia, Mohammad Reisi, offers
to rent thousands of hectares of mountain pastures to provide grazing
land for Iranian sheep. With the grazing leases, he has estimated that
Armenia could increase its livestock fivefold. Within a decade, he
says, Armenia could be exporting 2 to 3 million sheep a year to Iran.

Sounds good to me. After all, not too many people are lining up to
invest in Armenia, a small, landlocked nation, with poor relations
with two of its four neighbors. What's more, to the east, Armenia's
borders with Azerbaijan are closed.

On some stretches of territory, soldiers of Christian Armenia and
Muslim Azerbaijan face each other across trenches, poised on
hair-trigger alerts. About once a week, a military sniper on one side
kills a soldier from the other side.

To the west, Armenia's land borders with Turkey are still closed, a
legacy of bitter feelings over Ottoman Turkey's genocide campaign
against ethnic Armenians in 1915.

At first glance, the Iranian offer sounds like a win-win for
Armenia. Yet as environmentalist Hasmik Evoyan told me one morning in
Yerevan, this is naive. She walked me through the geopolitics of
sheep. She showed me why many Armenians saw putting lamb dishes on
Iranian dinner tables as a lose-lose for Armenia.

The sheep would largely graze in Armenia's southernmost region,
Syunik. Long and as narrow as 30 kilometers wide in some places,
Syunik is Armenia's lifeline to Iran. But it is strategically
vulnerable, sandwiched between two territories of Azerbaijan.

Although Syunik is Armenia's -second-largest region, it is also one of
its least populated. With 15 percent of Armenia's land area, Syunik
has less than 5 percent of Armenia's people. The population dropped in
the late 1980s after ethnic fighting forced an Azeri minority to flee
to Azerbaijan and northern Iran.

Without a large local population to draw on, the Iranian sheep project
would mean importing Iranian shepherds and possibly their
families. Depending on the age of slaughter - for lamb or mutton - an
annual export of 2.5 million sheep could mean an Iranian flock of 5
million sheep in southern Armenia. Given the region's steep terrain,
it would be hard for one shepherd to watch more than 500 sheep. So,
back-of-the-envelope calculations point to as many as 10,000 Iranian
shepherds. Where would the shepherds come from?

The memorandum of understanding was signed between Syunik and the
neighboring Iranian region, a place with a name that sounds ominous to
many Armenians - Eastern Atrapatakan, or Eastern Azerbaijan. With a
population 20 times that of Syunik, Eastern Atrapatakan is a keystone
for the northern Iran's Azeri minority, about 17 million people.

The Iranian sheep deal could come with as many 10,000 ethnic Azeri
shepherds, their families, and their watchdogs. But there is another
wrinkle: Over the past 20 years, the withdrawal of Armenian shepherds
from the mountain pastures has allowed the nation's wolf population to
surge. Armenian authorities now pay a $275 bounty for each wolf
shot. So it stands to reason that Iranian shepherds would carry rifles
to protect their flocks from wolves and other predators.

In a nutshell, Armenians say, the Iranian sheep deal would mean
several thousand ethnic Azeri men, most of whom are armed with rifles,
infiltrating into a strategic area.

"With the sheep, a couple of thousand people may come to Armenia, and
may live in places that are strategically important for Armenia," said
Evoyan, the environmentalist and a member of Armenia's PreParliament
opposition group. "It's not only about the employment. As I said, it's
about the informal migration of other nationalities to Armenia that is
not a strategically right choice for Armenia."

On Feb. 14, four days before Armenia's highly contested presidential
election, Evoyan and others protested the sheep deal in front of
Armenia's National Assembly building in Yerevan. I arrived in
Armenia's capital the next day. But Gohar Abrahamyan, a reporter for
the -Armenia Now news website, covered the protest. She got
environmentalist Silva Adamyan to say out loud what many Armenians are
thinking quietly.

"I remember how the Azerbaijanis were quietly taking control of Syunik
during the Soviet years," Adamyan told -Armenia Now. "We have
liberated it. And now, we want to give it to them again? Can't we
really understand that it is the same Azeris - citizens of Iran - who
would be coming back to Syunik with their families, and so the blood
we shed for those lands would turn out to be for nothing?"

In Armenia's presidential election, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan
was re-elected. But the opposition candidate, who performed strongly
and claims the results were falsified, has been leading street
protests. By all indications, the Iranian sheep project will die a
bureaucratic death, buried in the Agriculture Ministry.


James Brooke, based in Moscow, is the Russia/CIS bureau chief for
Voice of America.