25 Jul 2016
SHARING CHINESE EXPERIENCE
China is a country of developing agriculture, which provides a huge volume of product not only for inner consumers but also worldwide. The population of China is approximately 20% in the world format. Meanwhile, there are different social classes living there, and there is always a necessity to feed them healthy and well. There comes a question – how is China using its infrastructures to satisfy the internal consumers of the country? To share the country’s experience regarding the given issue, the Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of China periodically organizes trainings for representatives of different sectors.
From April 28 to May 27 a “Training Course on Agro-Tech. Extension for Armenia in 2016” was organized in Beijing, China by the National Agro-Tech Extension and Service Center (NATESC). The program aimed to educate the Armenian Farmers and those who are interested in agriculture in the main approaches and techniques, applied by China in the sphere of agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia provided an opportunity for 20 Armenians to participate in the course, including representatives from Farmers Association, Extension Service and Harvest Promotion Center, six representatives from the Farm Service Centers and four CARD employees: Harutyun Hambardzumyan and Artur Asatryan from the Warehouse department, Narek Tadevosyan from the Program Development, Monitoring and Evaluation Department and Gevorg Shahbazyan from the Production and Services department.
The program lasted 30 days during which the Armenian group gained a valuable experience and was familiarized with various agricultural infrastructures.
Group members mentioned that China is one of the most agriculturally developed countries in the world, and the visit provided them with a valuable experience and an opportunity to see a lot of farms or factories in China, including the fertilizers production, egg production, and tractor production. The group visited medium-sized farmers/greenhouses. They noticed similiarities between the Armenian and Chinese greenhouse sectors. The participants found that farmers in China are using polyethylene functional plastic sheeting on the product to keep moisture when it is in the development stage.Meanwhile, training participants mentioned that this technology would not work in Armenia as it is too windy here.
Armenian group members were very impressed by the diligence of the Chinese nation. This is the main prerequisite for their development, according to the group members.
The country has a problem to feed 20% of world population, and it is not an easy task.