Only women work in greenhouses in Armenia (video)
Some 15 residents of Gosh community in Armenia’s Tavush marz (province) are waiting for the results of their work. “We have planted beans, peppers, chili peppers, greens... We hope to have a good crop, more than one and a half tons,” says Anahit Veranyan, President of Mkhitar Gosh Cooperative. The fifteen female members of the cooperative are growing vegetables in a greenhouse, which was built within the framework of a project implemented by Oxfam Armenia. The cooperative has already collected more than 2 tons of tomatoes. “We do not have great income, because the greenhouse is not heated in winter months. This year, we used two stoves to heat the greenhouse but they did not help, everything was frozen,” Anahit Veranyan says. The programme for heating greenhouses has not be approved yet. “The heating program should be compliant with the environment. One can spend AMD 3 million to heat an area covering 400 square meters. As a result, one can double and triple their incomes,” says Vadim Uzunyan, Agriculture and Food Security Policy Programme Manager at Oxfam. Two years ago, greenhouses were also built by Oxfam in Sarighyugh community of the marz. The cooperative has received an income of AMD 150 000 which will be distributed between its 12 members. “The money is enough for a villager to cover her daily concerns. Women in our community do not only help their husbands feed their families, especially those whose husbands are working outside the country, but they also take home ecologically clean food,” says Luiza Revazyan, President of Sarighyugh Cooperative. Oxfam is implementing a food security program in Tavush and Vayots Dzor marzes through EU funding. Today, Oxfam Armenia has submitted to the Armenian government a food security strategy, which is aimed at stimulating local production and consumption.
