News - Economy minister: Wheat production in Armenia is not economically expedient

The issue of food security has always been important for us. I also have said in the National Assembly that my last official telephone conversation with the minister of agriculture of Russia was about our imports and exports in general. Gevorg Papoyan stated this while speaking with reporters after the cabinet session of the Armenian government Thursday—and referring to the statement by Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), who had emphasized that Armenia imports 90 percent of its wheat from Russia. Regarding the fact that the autumn wheat subsidy program in Armenia was stopped last year, and this caused damage to the country’s farmers, the economy minister said. "The government spends the money of Armenian citizens. We make calculations and implement economically expedient programs. If any program is not economically expedient, we do not implement [it], instead we implement another economically expedient program. Wheat production in Armenia is an economically inexpedient process. For example, one hectare of watered area yields 400 thousand drams of wheat, in the case when 420 thousand drams are spent." To the clarifying question as to whether it turns out that importing wheat is more expedient for Armenia, Papoyan responded: "No country in the world can produce everything. In Armenia, we need to develop intensive horticulture, which is a more valuable and profitable process; and with the generated money, let’s import what is not produced in the republic. There are many products that are of strategic importance; [natural] gas and oil are also of strategic importance. It will be a very bad economic policy and I will be very critical of the economic policy maker who will use Armenia's limited land resources in wheat production instead of intensive horticulture." And to the question as to what Armenia will do if for some reason the Upper Lars motorway—between the Georgian-Russian border—is closed, Papoyan said. "That's why there is a government, there is an administration, and there is a daily work that the Ministry of Economy [of Armenia] carries out."