Agriculture plays a crucial role in the economy of Armenia, providing about 12% of the GDP (2020), employing 25% of the workforce, and making use of almost 60% of the country’s land for varied purposes. This includes arable land (16%), permanent crops (2%) and permanent pastures (42%) with more than 317,000 farming enterprises providing 97% of the gross agricultural output.
Attempting to satisfy the increased demands on agricultural production with existing farming practices will likely lead to more intense competition for natural resources, increased greenhouse gas emissions as well as further deforestation and land degradation. Developing agricultural businesses locally by providing access to high-performance technologies has long been a challenge, due to enabling environments, the lack of capacity to manage exposure to specific agricultural risks, and the high transaction costs.
The adoption of high-performance technologies would strengthen resilience to climate change, as they contribute to reducing the intensity of emissions and mitigate climate change by improving soils and the use of natural resources. Maintaining the same level of productivity while consuming fewer resources, such as fuel and water, optimising the use of nutrients and fertilisers, and improving operations to make better use of soil are only a few of the advantages that green technologies offer agricultural enterprises. Furthermore, any investment in green technology significantly improves a business’s ability to adapt to abnormal and atypical weather conditions.
Access to green finance in Armenia is made possible through the support of many international donor financial institutions, such as the EBRD’s GEFF and the government of RA by means of state subsidy programmes (e.g. State assistance of leasing for financial lending of agri-food equipment in the Republic of Armenia). The latter is accessible to all companies that choose to invest in certain agri-food processing and agricultural machinery. These companies are eligible for a full refund of interest payments by the state. The support schemes offered by GEFF and the Armenian government can even be combined when financing specific climate action investments. One such case that has been implemented under the GEFF in Armenia is a new wine production site with high-performance bottling equipment that leads to more than 40% energy savings.
There are various technologies available on the Armenian market through GEFF financing that help local agricultural businesses, such as farms and greenhouses as well as livestock, poultry or fish breeders, to become more sustainable and profitable. Our online catalogue, the Green Technology Selector lists technologies that have already been pre-selected and that qualify for green financing through the partner financial institutions of the GEFF in Armenia and that support the full circle of agricultural business operation:
Sustainable investments are investments in progress and promote better ways of doing business. Take a sustainable approach to pursuing your business goals.
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