From April 29 to May 3, experts from "Agrarmarkt" Austria (AMA) and "AGES" state agencies Ulrike Vorberg and Ruth Fischereder were in Armenia. The purpose of their visit was to assess the current state of the vet and slaughterhouse systems in the RA, to identify gaps and challenges.

During the visit, the experts had meetings with representatives of the RA Ministry of Economy, "Center for Agricultural Services" SNCO, the RA Food Safety Inspection Body, and the CARD Foundation. They also had meetings with private and public vet service providers, as well as regional epidemiologists and livestock owners, the architect of the ANIPAS system. Experts also carried out on-the-spot inspections and monitoring of the AIR system.

On the 2nd of May, a workshop was held dedicated to the presentation of on-the-spot control (OTSC) and veterinary systems based on the example of Austria. The workshop was also attended by RA Deputy Minister of Economy Tatevik Sargsyan, Deputy Head for the Yerevan Office of the Austrian Development Agency Nora Alanakyan, Director of the Center for Agricultural Services SNCO Garnik Hovhannisyan, CARD Foundation Director Gagik Sardaryan, Deputy Head of the RA Food Safety Inspection Body Sona Tsarukyan, as well as other representatives of the mentioned structures.

“The successful implementation of this strategically important project will certainly contribute to the increase of food security and competitiveness of local products, access to new markets, and the development of the veterinary sector,” said Tatevik Sargsyan.

At the end of the visit, the experts came up with conclusions and recommendations and presented a report.

The visit was organized within the framework of the Animal Identification and Registration project in the Republic of Armenia, which is implemented by the funding of the RA Government by the CAS SNCO. Financial and technical support for the project is provided by the Austrian Development Agency through the CARD Foundation.