Farmer Sells 900 Sheep Due to Feed Shortage

Andranik Navasardyan, a farmer, has put up for sale his herd of 900 sheep, stating that he cannot afford the feed necessary to keep them. In an interview with 'Zhoghovurd' newspaper, the farmer expressed regret, noting that maintaining 900 sheep requires thousands of dollars.

“You can’t just keep sheep with mixed feed; they need hay to eat. It’s impossible without hay, and right now a hectare of hay costs 2,500-3,000 drams. To raise 900 sheep, 500 tons of feed is needed for 180 days,” he explained.

According to his calculations, acquiring 500 tons of animal feed would require $120,000. Navasardyan has approached the Ministry of Economy regarding this issue but claims they have not provided substantial assistance, only suggesting a 0% loan. He stated that this option is not feasible: “There’s no problem with money, but we can’t put $120,000 into these animals.”

This year, there is a shortage of animal feed in Armenia, which 'Zhoghovurd' has reported multiple times. We continue to receive phone calls from farmers announcing that they could not gather enough hay due to water scarcity; they were unable to irrigate their fields and did not collect the expected quantity of hay. Even if farmers manage to find hay, it is available at very high prices and in limited quantities. Additionally, a large number of livestock were relocated from Artsakh to Armenia during the 44-day war, which has increased the demand for animal feed.

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For more details, see today's issue of 'Zhoghovurd' newspaper.