Governmental Decree No. 1886-L validating the Strategy of the main directions ensuring economic development in agricultural sector of the Republic of Armenia for 2020-2030.

Strategy of the main directions ensuring economic development in agricultural sector of the Republic of Armenia for 2020-2030 is a nationwide multi-sectoral policy document aimed at creating equal conditions and opportunities, as well as a fair, competitive, and sustainable enabling environment for all natural persons and business entities that are working to advance a qualitatively improved and more modern agricultural sector.
The goal is to transform Armenia's agricultural sector in a core pillar of a thriving, modern, and diversified economy, with the aim of inclusive growth of smallholders, agribusinesses, and involvement of the broader strata of the rural population, including youth, in productive opportunities.
The Ministry of Economy shall be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy.
The Strategy is based on seven principles and aims at inclusive growth, gender equality, as well as institutional sustainability: (a) aggregation - support the aggregation of smallholdings and fragmented value chains through the reduction of abandoned land and the promotion of farmer-to-farmer and farmer-to-agribusiness linkages to transition to a more economically viable agriculture sector; (b) commercialization – support of export-focused growth and private sector investment into more commercial activities, prioritized support for high value agricultural commodities, re-orientation to high value export markets, and emphasis on value-add activities, most notably the greenhouse sector and agro-processing sector development; (c) orientation to quality - focus on improving, monitoring, and promoting the quality of Armenian agriculture products and pursue upmarket positioning and emphasizing the unique qualities of Armenia's environment (water, mountains, ecologically safe agriculture) and rich and ancient food culture and, in parallel, development of develop geographical identification for traditional products and wine, Brand Armenia positioning in priority sectors, adding an Armenian Quality Label for promotion at the local market level; (c) youth engagement – inclusion of young people in all agriculture development activities-from policy making to production, processing, and marketing activities in order to foster engagement and build a sustainable supply of talent for the sector; (d) diversification and risk management – promotion of product and market diversification, introduction of risk management measures ranging from hail protection systems to universal access to high quality agricultural insurance for producers and agribusinesses; (e) climate change adaptation, resistance and environmental sustainability - increasing focus on climate changes awareness, adaptation, and mitigation strategies (e.g., improve agriculture sector climate change monitoring, promote climate smart agriculture practices, and support dissemination of climate adaptation inputs like draught resistant seeds), while also working to ensure that agriculture sector development is informed by a focus on resource sustainability including, most critically, good water and soil management practices; and (f) technology-focused modernization - investment in agricultural sector digitalization, mechanization/automation, irrigation, the greenhouse sector, and post-harvest infrastructure development (e.g., cold chains, modern storage systems), building the local ecosystem for agriculture technology innovation and regional digital agriculture services leadership.
The Strategy sets forth seven strategic priorities that have been defined for Armenia's agriculture sector: (a) increase agriculture sector competitiveness and enhancing efficiency; (b) ensure food safety; (c) develop local markets and increase export possibilities; (d) improve food security and nutrition; (e) develop institutional and human capacity; (e) support sustainable rural development; and (f) promote digital agriculture and technology innovation; the latter are interconnected and will support the others.