
03 Apr 2024
CARD Foundation's Consistent Partnership with the Ministry of Economy
The CARD Foundation continues to assist the Ministry of Economy of the RA within the framework of the Austrian Development Agency's funded AI&R project to ensure the continuity and stability of the cattle animal identification and registration system in the Republic of Armenia.
Within the framework of the project, several important events were organized and carried out in October-December 2023, the positive impact of which is evident not only on the AI&R system but also on various public and private services provided in the field of animal health and livestock breeding.
One of the above-mentioned events was the RA National Assembly and government officials' study visit to Austria regarding the AI&R system in October 2023. After the visit, in December 2023, the CARD Foundation presented information on the importance of small slaughterhouses in communities to remove animal numbers from the system. CARD Foundation assisted the "Center for Agricultural Sevices" SNCO in the printing of animal identification and registration monitoring logs and distributing them to veterinarians, development, design, printing, and other works of awareness materials.
After the experience gained regarding small slaughterhouses during the visit to Austria, the government very quickly, within a month, developed Government Decision 106 N on establishing small slaughterhouses in RA communities, which was approved on January 25, 2024. The decision on small slaughterhouses will directly contribute to the reporting of animal slaughter reports to the ANI PAS electronic system, and the slaughtered animals to be removed from the ANI PAS system.
Following the government's decision to establish a system of small slaughterhouses in the Republic of Armenia, the CARD Foundation will support the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the establishment and re-equipment of small slaughterhouses in several communities of the country, as the well-functioning operation of the slaughterhouses is an important prerequisite for the smooth functioning of the AI&R system and the improvement of data quality.
For this purpose, on March 23 of this year, RA Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan, Deputy Minister Ashkhen Shirvanyan, Lori Marz Governor Aram Ghazaryan, and CARD Foundation Director Gagik Sardaryan visited Hakob Karapetyan's farm in Karadzor community of Spitak region, which is an animal breeding farm with a small slaughterhouse. The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with this model of the farm, which in turn is very similar to the model of small slaughterhouses in Austria. During the visit, they discussed how to spread the model created by Hakob Karapetyan, an animal slaughtering platform with an attached slaughterhouse.
In 1995, Hakob Karapetyan acquired a semi-destroyed livestock farm belonging to the collective farm left over from the Soviet years in the Karadzor community of Spitak region of Lori marz and started producing beef. He bought cattle, particularly bulls, from the local livestock market organized every weekend, transported them to the farm, and carried out breeding, fattening, and slaughtering. Then the livestock owners called Hakob and offered animals of different age groups.
In 2004, Hakob Karapetyan, with the support and cooperation of the CARD Foundation, introduced the outdoor behavior program for animals. After the program was concluded, the results obtained, particularly the weight gain of the animals and the rate of return, were satisfactory.
Now every year, Hakob buys animals of different genders and ages from more than 200 farmers in the region's villages, as well as grass grows them, and sells them to supermarkets and restaurants.
We earnestly aspire for the establishment of analogous livestock farms and adjoining small-scale slaughterhouses across all regions of the Republic of Armenia, offering comparable services to livestock owners in neighboring communities. The implementation of such a system holds the promise of streamlining the removal of slaughtered animal data from the ANI PAS registration system, thereby enhancing the accuracy and robustness of the animal identification and registration database. Consequently, consumers will be empowered with the assurance of purchasing meat and meat products sourced from certified slaughterhouses, subject to rigorous veterinary scrutiny. This not only elevates the safety and quality standards of food but also fortifies public health by shielding the populace against the spread of highly infectious diseases
*** The animal identification and registration project is implemented with the funding of the Government of the Republic of Armenia by the "Center for Agricultural Services" SNCO. The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) provides financial and technical support to the project through the CARD Foundation.

