Armavir governor thanks Armenia’s leadership for supporting owners of hail-stricken farms

YEREVAN, June 13. /ARKA/. Ashot Ghahramanyan, the governor of Armenia’s Armavir province, speaking Thursday at the Cabinet’s on-site meeting, expressed gratitude to the president, the prime minister and the government for lessening losses of hail-stricken areas’ residents.

“If they didn’t display such an approach, we would find ourselves in distress,” he said. “You have supported farmers, and we have managed to solve the problems.” 

The governor said that things were favorable for agriculture in 2013 and they gave grounds for expecting heavy yields, but frost at April 24 night has stricken hard at 1,827 hectares of crop lands in 29 communities destroying 20 to 80% of crop, and hailstorms on May 12 and 17 destroyed more than 50% of crop in 46 communities and inflicted a damage in the total amount of AMD 25.3 billion.    

Ghahramanyan said that the government took a series of steps to relieve farmers’ woe – it gave them seeds and organized necessary work to remedy hail-beaten vineyards. 

Besides, the government allocated AMD 207 million to compensate farmers’ land taxes and AMD 650.1 million to compensate them their irrigation water expenses.

The loans extended to these farmers in foreign currencies will be converted into drams, their terms will be prolonged and some part of interests will be subsidized. Individual approach is displayed toward each farmer.  

“Other 50 anti-hail stations are planned to be deployed in provinces,” Ghahramanyan said 

On May 12, hailstorms inflicted significant damage to 17,000 hectares of crop land in Armenia’s Armavir province. Crops in Shirak, Aragatsotn, Lori, Kotayk and Syunik provinces have been stricken by hail as well.  -0-