Irrigation Water Issues Will Not Arise This Year; Interest Rates on Agricultural Loans to be Waived

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, announced during a cabinet meeting today that agricultural businesses will not face issues with irrigation water this year. He stated that the government is optimistic about achieving high crop yields this season.

“We are entering the agricultural year with considerable optimism. Particularly since yesterday, the Water Committee reported that the snow cover is such that we will not face significant issues with water resources and will be able to provide our farmers with irrigation water,” said Pashinyan.

It is worth recalling that in the summer of 2019, emptied reservoirs were only filled to 50% in 2020 due to low precipitation. Throughout that year, the government decided twice to release an additional 170 million cubic meters of water from Lake Sevan to meet irrigation demands.

Additionally, the government is also waiving interest rates on loans provided for agricultural programs. This decision was made during today’s cabinet meeting based on a proposal from the Ministry of Economy.

“To mitigate the economic consequences of the coronavirus in 2020, the government had adopted a decision on March 26 that made loans and leasing available to entrepreneurs at a 0% interest rate within the framework of state support programs, resulting in investments under these programs exceeding the previous year's figures by approximately two times,” stated Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan while presenting the project.