23 Nov
HomePageENG, SuccessStoriesENG

Thanks to large family members’ joint efforts the common goal became a reality

Vayots Dzor marz’s Yelpin settlement would not be any different from other settlements in the region and in Armenia if a unique cheese factory had not been established there.

“Yerpin” agricultural cooperative that presents its products in the market under the “ArtCheese” brand started cheese production in 2016 with the involvement of 3 employees. One of the founders of the cooperative, Arthur Nazaryan, has taken over the management of the cheese factory, and the other members of the cooperative are involved in the processes of milk production and product processing. Over the years, the number of employees has increased to ten. The factory collects milk from the marz’s farmers and it is a stable source of income for about 35 farms.

With the support of the “Livestock Development in the South of Armenia” project implemented by the Strategic Development Agency NGO, the employees of the cooperative participated in a number of professional trainings, improved their milk production and processing knowledge, received necessary professional advice, and applied the gained skills and knowledge in their work. In recent years, with the support of the project, the factory has been reconstructed, bringing it in line with international food production standards and increasing production capacity. As a result, the quality of the product has improved, as well as the production and promotion of new products have been established.

“By combining all the efforts of the family members, the common goal of achieving greater recognition and consumption becomes much more realistic. The guarantee of our sustainable development and achievements is the consistent approach and continuous investments in the expansion of capacities, improvement of milk collection, production, marketing processes. We did not even think that we could start producing high-value cheeses when we founded the cooperative and used to produce only traditional types of cheese – Lori, Chanakh . Thanks to cooperation with the “Livestock Development in the South of Armenia” project and a number of other projects,  we also started producing high-quality cheeses,” -says Arthur Nazaryan.

Already in 2017, parmesan and gouda cheeses were produced and put on trial sale, and due to the demand, their production volumes are increasing year by year. Today the cooperative produces 14 types of cheese, not only for the Armenian market but also for the Russian Federation and the United States.

“As a result of our work, many families from Yelpin and neighboring communities  are already taking confident steps towards the development of livestock development knowing that in the future they will not have a problem with the sale of milk.” Production development plans are not limited to this, we also plan to increase production volumes, the number of sale points representing the company, and to start production of new lactic acid products (yogurt, tan, sour cream)”,– sums up Arthur Nazaryan.

13 Nov
NEWSARM

“Skills, Knowledge and Intermediation Development” Project Partners Meeting

On November 12-13, 2021, the partners meeting took place within the framework of the “Skills, Knowledge and Intermediation Development” pilot project implemented by Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO with the participation of representatives from the Project’s partner institutions; Armenian National Agrarian University, Unified Social Service of Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of RA, Armenian Hikers Association, Cheese Makers’ Union of Armenia, Armenian Tourism Federation, and Links Technologies.

The “Skills, Knowledge and Intermediation Development” pilot project is implemented by Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO in the framework of #RECONOMY – a regional inclusive and green economic development program of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), implemented by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation. The aim of the Project is to support unemployed women and youth as well as other disadvantaged and excluded groups to improve their (self)employability through enhanced capacities and incentives of skills and knowledge providers and employers to collaborate, develop and offer improved, relevant, demand-driven non-formal training courses in the field of tourism/hospitality and agriculture/agribusiness in the Republic of Armenia.

During the meeting, each partner presented the activities done in the framework of the project, the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 Pandemic period and what was the actual solutions for overcoming them. Participants presented upcoming events and activities with the further discussion on the effective cooperation among each other.

The meeting was also marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with new partners.

As a result of the two-day meeting, the Project partners came up with long-term recommendations, as well as worked out the roadmap for further activities.

 

09 Nov
HomePageARM, HomePageENG, HomePageENG, HomePageENG, HomePageENG, NEWSARM, NEWSARM

The official opening of Balahovit’s training center for diary masters

In the framework of the “Skills, Knowledge and Intermediation Development” pilot project, the official opening ceremony of the “Balahovit” Teaching-Experimental Farm Training Center for Dairy Masters of Armenian National Agrarian University took place on November 9, 2021, in Kotayk Marz, village Balahovit.

SDA together with Armenian National Agrarian University renovated and furnished the building. It is equipped with up to date milk and dairy production laboratory and technologies and the Centre is ready to provide youth with an opportunity not only to master the gained theoretical knowledge during the practical part of the course, but while staying at the Centre during the whole period of the training course, they will participate in the whole production processes of cheesemaking starting from milk collection to cheese tasting produced by themselves.

The “Skills, Knowledge and Intermediation Development” pilot project is implemented by Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO in the framework of #RECONOMY – a regional inclusive and green economic development program of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), implemented by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation.

04 Nov
Uncategorized

“Hiking Tourism” 4-day training held in Tavush Marz, Gosh village

On November 1-4, four-day “Hiking Tourism” training developed and organized by the Armenian Hikers Association in frames of the “Skills, Knowledge and Intermediation Development” pilot project, was held in Vayots Dzor region.

The “Skills, Knowledge and Intermediation Development” pilot project is implemented by Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO in the framework of #RECONOMY – a regional inclusive and green economic development program of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), implemented by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation.

The “Hiking Tourism” training module combines theoretical and practical methods ensuring the effective assimilation of delivered material. The training aims to equip the participants with practical knowledge contributing to the self-sufficiency of tourism industry employees and (self)employability improvement in the village with high tourism potential.

The special guests of the training with years of experience in the field were Edgar Navasardyan, Director of “AS Tour Club”, and Gevorg Avetisyan, Director of “VANATUN” hotel who shared their experience, practical advice with the participants and answered all the questions.

As a result of the four-day training, the participants got acquainted with the main trends in hiking tourism, popular applications, and all safety measures. On the last day of the training, a hiking trip to Lake Gosh was organized. The participants practically used the acquired knowledge through the trip, getting an in-depth understanding of the rules of leading a hike and ensuring the safety of the group. 

 

20 Oct
NEWSENG, NEWSENG, NEWSENG, NEWSENG, NEWSENG

National Association of Veterinarians NGO՛s members’ meeting-discussion on the current work under COVID-19 conditions

On October 20-21, a two-day meeting-discussion of veterinarians of the National Association of Veterinarians NGO was held in Syunik Animal Market with the co-initiative of SDA NGO and NAV NGO on the implemented,  ongoing, and planned works to carry out under the pandemic conditions. The meeting was attended by veterinarians, members of the Association, as well as the heads of “Veterinary Service Station” SNCOs of the Artsakh Republic, representatives of the Ministry of Economy of the Artsakh Republic, Deputy Minister of Economy of RA Tigran Gabrielyan, representatives of the Food Safety Inspection Rody of RA leadership Narek Hayrapetyan, Georgi Avetisyan.

 

On the first day of the meeting, a number of urgent issues of the field were discussed, especially the very important issues related to the qualification of veterinarians and the use of antibiotics, which are also interrelated. During the discussion, it became clear that the solution to the problem of .qualification of veterinarians requires legislative changes, which are currently at the process stage by the relevant departments. Based on the voting the amount and deadlines of membership fees were also unanimously adopted by the NAV NGO’s veterinarian members.

On the second day of the meeting, a video call was held with the management of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), who introduced the NAV NGO’s members who are FVE applicants concurrently, to the staff of the organization, the nature of the work, answered a number of questions, etc. The meeting was carried out by active discussions, followed by some practical presentations to develop specialists’ practical skills.

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