Introducing Pasture and Grassland Maps for Sustainable Pasture and Grasslands Management Practices in Lori and Shirak Marzes of Armenia

The pilot project “Introducing pasture and grassland maps for sustainable pasture and grasslands management practices in Lori and Shirak marzes of Armenia” was launched on January 1, 2021. The project is financed by the GIZ ECOSERVE Project, with co-financing from the “Livestock Development in the South of Armenia” project implemented by “Strategic Development Agency ” NGO with financial support of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

The project will test the developed digital maps in the pasture management of the target Amasia and Gyulagarak communities selected from the Shirak and Lori regions of RA, to improve sustainable governance practices for developing capabilities and opportunities in governance.

The aim of the pilot project is to develop an institutional framework for the use of digital maps based on the needs and requirements of communities. Which will be the basis for the usage of the maps, available to the Ministry of Economy and  the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure in all communities of the Republic of Armenia.

Skilss, Knowledge and Intermediation Development

The “Skills, knowledge and intermediation development” pilot project is implemented by Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO with the support of HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation-cooperating partner to SIDA.

The pilot project supports unemployed women and youth as well as other disadvantaged and excluded groups to improve their (self)employability (income-generating and job opportunities) through enhanced capacities of public and private skills and knowledge providers and employers and incentives to collaborate, develop and offer improved and relevant formal & non-formal training in tourism/hospitality and agriculture/agribusiness sectors. The pilot project has two main objectives: (i) a skilling enhancing objective seeks to achieve improved performance of training provision for relevant and future-oriented training system, (ii) an employment or income-generation access objective seeks to facilitate development of operational structures and services that enable matching of skills and employment or income-generating opportunities by a range of stakeholders.

Being implemented through application of Market System Development (MSD) approach the pilot aims to improve the partnership between employers, VET colleges, non-formal training/career orientation service providers and job seekers (especially young people and women). The cooperation between the various market players and effectively functioning skills development system in general will help to reduce unemployment and create more and diverse opportunities for unemployed youth and women.

Promoting Partnerships for Effective Work-Based Learning Opportunities in VET

“Strategic Development Agency” (SDA) NGO implements EU funded project on piloting the work-based learning model in agricultural vocational education and training (VET) in Syunik and Lori marzes of Armenia.

The project supports Goris and Stepanavan State Agricultural Colleges in strengthening the partnership with private sector by adopting work-based learning (WBL) in Veterinarian and Milk Technologist professions.

The project contributes to the establishment of a sustainable system of vocational education, which is tightly linked to the demand of the labour market. It also creates a replicable model and the respective competency for implementing work-based learning education in other VET institutions of Armenia.

The project’s focus is on developing the capacities of selected VET colleges (Goris and Stepanavan State Agricultural Colleges) and companies/employers in Syunik and Lori marzes through their involvement in the selected professions curricula revision and capacity development trainings to ensure the provision of a comprehensive work-based learning model in professional education.

 

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Livestock Development in Armenia: South-North

The “Livestock Development in Armenia: South-North” Project is implemented by “Strategic Development Agency” NGO and financed by the Austrian Development Agency, the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The Project targets households involved in cattle breeding, actors of milk and meat value chains and Local Self-Governing Bodies of 100 rural settlements, with over 99,000 habitants, of Shirak, Lori, Tavush and Gegharkunik marzes. The partners of the 3 year duration Project are RA Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Administrations of Shirak, Lori, Tavush and Gegharkunik marzes, as well as Local Self-Governing Bodies.

This Project was developed taking into consideration achieved results of the livestock development projects implemented for the previous 10 years in Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Tavush and Gegharkunik marzes and gained expertise of “Strategic Development Agency” NGO.

In the frame of Project investments plans with milk processing companies are being developed and implemented which undertakes provision of new production equipment as well as capacity building consultation throughout the cooperation period. As a result of the Project intervention processors enhance their production line, increase sales volumes and integrate more farmers as suppliers.

The Project long-term goal is to contribute to inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth of livestock-dependant rural communities in Northern marzes of Armenia through facilitation of private sector and activation of the Armenian-Georgian economic relations.

 

VET Development in Syunik Marz

“Strategic Development Agency ” (SDA) NGO in partnership with the Swiss organizations HEKS/EPER (Swiss Church Aid) and HAFL (the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences of the Bern University of Applied Sciences) implements a project in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in agriculture in the marz of Syunik in Armenia.

The project offers an opportunity to the Goris Agricultural College and Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) Sisian branch (which are the only agricultural institutions in Syunik marz) to develop a practice-oriented VET in the specialties of Animal Health Technologist (AHT) and Milk Technologist (MT) adapted to the local context of Syunik marz in Armenia.

The project contributes to the development of vocational education and advisory services in agriculture by putting in practice innovative approaches and creates a more adapted market-oriented practical education in the field of veterinary, milk processing and delivery of advisory services to farmers.

The project’s focus is on developing the capacities of selected VET colleges (ANAU Sisian branch and Goris Agricultural College) and strengthening the links between VET schools and private sector to provide competence and activity-oriented practical education.