A rural seed farm in Balak
In 2022-2023, with the support of the "ECOserve" project implemented by The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) under the delegation of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), we implemented the "Fodder production demo village - reactivation of non-cultivated arable lands" project in the Balak settlement of Sisian consolidated community, Syunik. Within the framework of the project, we have provided "The Balak Village Pasture Users Association" with agricultural tools and equipment: a field sprayer, a tiller, a soil leveler, a thresher, a seed separator, and a crop lifter. The 26 members of the cooperative invested 3,500,000 drams for the implementation of the project.
During the implementation of the project, we provided the necessary training to the cooperative members. As a result, they can now fully utilize the provided tools and equipment. Thus, the cooperative is already ready to filter last year's barley seed and grind the unsuitable grain for the seed.
In general, within the framework of the project, 36 ha of sown barley were harvested in the first year, obtaining 45 tons of harvest and 2100 bales of straw. They also sowed 45 hectares of corn, from which they will be able to harvest more than 7,000 bales of fodder this year and will receive about 10 tons of quality corn seeds.
It is essential that the cooperative leased additional land on which it planted 19 ha of corn, 10 ha of barley, and 2 ha of sainfoin. Furthermore, the cooperative has also leased and improved 20 ha of grassland from the community. And 60 bales of grass were obtained from 1 ha of that improved grassland.
As a result of these successes, the cooperative members planned to cultivate corn, barley, and sainfoin seeds. This initiative is the first step in establishing a rural seed farming economy in the Republic of Armenia.
