An Overview Of Our Solution
Promote Organic Agro Production in Aragatsotn province. Overall objective: Promote Introduction and enforcement of viable multifunctional organic production cooperative farming model for non-traditional high value varieties of herbs, fruits, berries and essential oil-bearing crops in Aragatsotn through innovative technologies and sustainable value chain mechanisms for cultivation /processing /producing /marketing of these plants.
Specific objectives: (1) Establish a multifunctional organic production cooperative with 20 farmers in Ashtarak and empower them with skills and knowledge through capacity building to apply innovative technologies for organic production. (2) Initiate organic cultivation, procession and production of 17 types of non-traditional berries, fruits, herbs and essential oil-bearing crops through using innovative Effective Microorganism
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Asia
General Information
Organization type
Cooperativo
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Forests
Grasslands
Population impacted
1600people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
8 հա
Production quantity
30000 kilos
People employed
12people
Solution
Describe your solution
The effective microorganisms (EM) new gardening method offers 80 types of microorganisms for the soil thanks to which the necessary micro and macro organisms are formed in the soil for the crops. Due to which the quality of soil is restored and its degradation is mitigated, providing high-quality and wholesome harvest. The action will offer use of natural biological means for regeneration of soil and its fertility. Essentially it is about bioorganic oriented agriculture when different methods are being replaced by organic waste (composting, bio humus, biotechnological processing).Use of the proposed new technology yields 2-4 times more harvest compared to traditional crops, and concurrently ensures proper income for farmers. All these methods the action proposes to use, including crop rotation, use of vertical growth of crops, efficient use of solar energy, will lead to recovery of soil and its sustainable use. It also will respond to water insufficiency issue, as due to special order of beds and passages less irrigation water is required: 30% per 100 m2 as compared to the traditional gardening.
In the realities of the economic downturn and high unemployment rates efficient utilization of land has become more than vital and urgent. If properly developed, a joint agro-processing business through imparting innovative skills and know how knowledge to and creation of a cooperative formed by them could be one of the most important and efficiently working
Implementation
Describe your implementation
IThe action is to establish a new model of agro-collaboration between the farmers, set up an organic multifunctional agricultural cooperative of the farmers in Ashtarak based on the analysis of the situation of the organic production through operations. The scope of activities of the action will have the following major stages for implementation:
1. Establishing/certification of cooperative
2. Selection of non-traditional crops
3. Cultivation of thee crops through greenhouse and open-air gardening
4. Processing /producing certified branded organic products
5. Marketing of the cooperative products
6. Public awareness / visibility / sharing know-how on organic cooperative model with other interested farmers
To form a new value chain productive cluster agribusiness model for agricultural production through setting up and operate an innovative multifunctional organic production cooperative first in its types for Ashtarak community as an effective and viable structure to cultivate/process/produce non-traditional organic crops/products (herbs, berries, oil-bearing crops, fruits, using new technologies mobilizing and consolidating efforts of 20 local farmers into a cooperative. The cooperative will operate all-year round through a greenhouse set-up and running
1. Hold meetings with the selected 20 farmers that have already a 6-year collaboration experience with each other to introduce the action, its components, expecting outcomes and enrolling them for the cooperative
2. Clarify with the 20 farmers and define the regulations, roles and responsibilities for each of the cooperative member-farmer and scope of activities of the cooperative, discuss the advantages of farmers’ team work, efficient use of financial resources towards sustainability.
3. Review the best practices and legal mechanisms for set-up and operations of the cooperative
4. Start certification procedure for organic production and registration of the organic cooperative.
External connections
Arrange/manage the cultivation of non-traditional high value seedlings such as goji berry, pepino, broccoli, Physalis, artichoke, hyssop, celery, leek, etc., in the greenhouse and on the open-air field in due and appropriate cultivation technics and through a conveyor method for certain crops. Process 17 types of organic products and produce them under a single certified Brand and in an organized manner as fresh and/or dried products, as well as high quality organic raw supply for private food processing companies, such as “Ishkhan LLC, “Armenian Tea” LLC for their further procession in the form of a variety of canned and other products
Provide technical assistance to the cooperative members at all stages of the value chain: cultivation, procession, production.
Negotiate to sign contracts with Carrefour and Yerevan City supermarket networks; private crop processing companies: Ishkhan, Armenian Tea, Gyughi tatik; and Vahagn residential community for supplying the cooperative certified organic products for sale, consumption and/or for further procession as canned or dried products. Participate in agricultural fairs demonstrating the organic product of the cooperative and disseminate information on the Action and Donors
Publish articles in Agrolratu newspaper and Facebook network elucidating the launch of the action, as well as its interim/final results/outcomes
Disseminate the action and its goal and objectives among EU grantee stakeholders and exchange information
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
Oversaturation with different types of chemicals disinfects the soil, destroy its biological ingredients that form the very ecological system for soil. This requires a new type of regenerative resources (effective microorganisms, EM) to introduce and apply. Actually, we are talking about a bioorganic-oriented agriculture, when inorganic nutrients are replaced by various forms of nutrients available in processed manure and other organic waste (compost, bio humus, biotechnological development). One of the most important ingredients of Effective microorganisms technology BAYKAL EM-1 which is a composition of numerous useful microorganisms that are in the soil. They can dominate in the soil and regulate effective functioning of other microorganisms, concurrently cleansing the soil from toxic micro flora, even from certain heavy metals. The microorganisms included in BAYKAL EM-1 fulfill sanitation of soil and environment, they produce all the necessary ferments, physiologically active
Describe the context in which you are operating
The farmers possess only limited land which, with Armenian traditional gardening practices, cannot provide them sufficient food security. They use most of the arable land plots for traditional crop cultivation, which unfortunately, does not ensure high-yielding and hence proper earning. They have poor means and singlehandedly cannot afford investing in their land. As a result, access to quality inputs and machinery is difficult. Many farmers have not applied nutrients in their gardens for years. Whereas the intensive use of chemicals has left its negative consequence on soil, also affecting the human beings and nature causing undesirable affects. These closely inter-related negative conditions result in land degradation over time, affecting its quality, productivity, efficiency, leading to poor livelihoods. Impoverished farmers do not ensure proper treatment, they use the same land plot for years without crop rotation. Their lands degrade given their inability to use sustainable land management practices which negatively affects not only the ecosystem functions, but more dramatically, leads to poverty and economic hardships.
The farmers have found themselves in a very unprotected situation caused not only by lack of pertinent innovative and effective mechanisms and means for productive cultivation, but because of lack of profitable business possibilities too for processing and producing their harvested crops so that they could secure marketing of agricultural products
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
The implementation of the project will have impact at multidimensional fields, namely:
The model offers investment of new technologies and innovative mechanisms for cultivation-processing and production that have already been piloted by the partners demonstrating high yielding results with less or lower costs achieving ultimate productivity. Additionally, the partners propose targeted activities with strong consideration of climatic conditions, soil peculiarities which, based on their operations in the target location, show favourable setting and best fit for the action to be fulfilled in a most successful way. If the action is funded, increased opportunities will be added for the cooperative to be created under the action- branding of diversified products making manageable the risks and upgrading the value chain
Language(s)
Armenian
Water
Environmental: The offered model is establishing environmentally sound land management practices, coupled with tangible economic gain for the participating households. A very significant fact the proposed mechanisms will ensure will be the efficient use of natural resources (energy, materials and water) and reduce risks to the environment and human health, at the same time having increase in the profit. Use of Effective microorganisms eliminates the use of chemical in a very short period of tim
Food Security/Nutrition
Today’s market has a great demand of a variety of Productivity and Diversity of organic products –Today’s market has a great demand of a variety of organic crops which is either rather little or is not available at all and is imported, therefore the produced varieties will have a significant privilege to be competitive in the consumption market. There are some perennial crops selected that are less costly in terms of their cultivation, yet more expensive in terms of both price and qualitative fe
Economic/Sustainable Development
500 characters max.
Climate
500 characters max.
Sustainability
Sustainability: Introduction and enforcement of this model is justified:
Financially (being highly efficient) - in the first year EUR 38,700 gross income will be received from open field cultivation gross income in the second year if the same volumes are kept, therewith creating favourable and attractive conditions for the development and growth of greenhouse organic farms and effective use of small land-plots..
In terms of innovative specifications- The action proposed is very urgent and perspective justified by innovative financial, technological and technical proposals.
Environmentally- Effective microorganism is an advanced technology. It is considered one of the latest scientific achievements: it is rapid,
Return on investment
I am an individual farmer and hence I do not have a legal status. I am the vice president of the National Farmers' Union, and am in charge of agricultural programs of the "Mansour" NGO.
Currently I possess:
2.7 hectares of private irrigational agricultural land in Ashtarak community, Aragatsotn province (EUR 80,000);
1 tractor (EUR 2,000)
380 m2 of private industrial areas, of which 230 m2 for 45 years, (EUR 40,000), 90 m2 for 40 years (EUR 35,000), 60 m2 for 25 years (EUR 10,000)
Annually, depending on seasonal demand, average 11 people are engaged in the works, as workforce; of them 4 have higher professional qualifications and all the innovative piloting works we perform together; additionally, there are a tractorist
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Lead applicant is an individual farmer. Previously, the lead applicant has carried out the action-proposed processes for piloting-testing purposes as well as acquiring experience and skills over different sowing timeframes crop varieties and testing technologies on small land plots. The outcomes achieved have served as a solid basis for the applicant to apply to the European Union and Austrian Development Agency to expand and develop its activities on larger plots, including new communities, sharing best practices and innovative technologies, for better and empowered representation in the market. Concurrently, the lead applicant has established cooperative ties with consumers, processors and has formed a certain value chain for consumption/marketing of the products which too ensure basis for perspective dynamics of the proposal.
The lead applicant is an agronomist by specialty with 30-year relevant experience, he has worked as consultant at the Aragatsotsn Regional Agricultural