Deputy Minister of Economy of Armenia, Tatevik Sargsyan, announced during a press conference on August 13 the government's plan to increase the area of cultivated land in the country by over 14,000 hectares by the end of 2024.
According to Sargsyan, recent years have seen a trend towards expanding cultivated land areas. However, currently, only 49.5% of arable land in Armenia is being cultivated. To address this issue, the government is implementing and planning state support programs aimed at incorporating uncultivated territories into agricultural production.
This information, as reported by Finport.am, contrasts with alarming statements made in April of this year by former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Ashot Harutyunyan. During the "Security and Economic Development" forum, he expressed concern about the significant reduction in the area of cultivated arable land in the country.
According to Harutyunyan, while 351,000 hectares out of 446,000 hectares of arable land were being cultivated in 2015, now, according to the Statistical Committee, only 200,000 hectares are being farmed. He also expressed doubts about the accuracy of these figures.
