“The situation in the country in terms of food security is not something which is now an immediate threat,” Raimund Jehle, the representative of the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Armenia, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“There are problems with access to fertilizers and other essential items,” he said. “But the Armenian government is making efforts to ensure that those items are accessible to farmers.”
The FAO said last month that international food and feed prices could rise by up to 20 percent following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two countries jointly account for around 25 percent of world wheat exports and 16 percent of world corn exports.
Armenia is heavily dependent on imports of Russian wheat, which met more than two-thirds of its domestic demand last year. Russia also accounts for 97 percent of cooking oil consumed by the South Caucasus country and nearly half of its sugar imports.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian said in early March that fallout from the conflict in Ukraine will push up the cost of these and other basic foodstuffs in Armenia.
Kerobian warned of a “serious challenge to our food security.” He urged Armenian farmers to cultivate more land, saying that the price hikes will make farming “more lucrative.”
Jehle said that the increased cost of fertilizers, seeds and fuel poses a major challenge to the Armenian agricultural sector. Greater government support for the sector could mitigate these problems, he said.
“Small and vulnerable farmers will be especially in need of assistance,” added the UN official.
The government decided last month to subsidize the prices of fertilizers for such farmers. The decision sparked protests by more affluent farmers with larger land holdings. They said they too should be eligible for the subsidy.
