In order to promote sustainable, innovative and market-oriented agribusiness in Armenia, the EU Green Agriculture Initiative in Armenia (EU-GAIA) has announced an open call for applications to support green and organic projects.

The EU-GAIA project is funded by the European Union and co-financed and implemented by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme in Armenia. The project’s Government counterpart in Armenia is the Ministry of Economy.

“In partnership with the Ministry of Economy, we are glad to launch this new call for proposals aiming to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly in Armenia, which is very much in line with the European Green Deal. We believe that farmers, small agribusiness producers will play a critical role in the COVID-19 recovery in the regions and overall transition towards more sustainable, competitive and resilient agriculture. The total size of this Agribusiness Support Programme within the EU-GAIA project is EUR 2,470,000 million,” announced EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin.

Various agribusinesses can take part in the call for applications: farmers, producers, processors.
The call consists of the following components:

Support for “Green” agricultural projects in Shirak, Lori and Tavush marzes.
The value chains selected in this component are:

•    Fruits, berries, vegetables, both fresh and processed.
To apply, please visit the Announcements section of the Ministry of Economy at the following link: https://mineconomy.am/page/1613

•    Legumes, herbs and sheep breeding.
To apply, please visit:https://mineconomy.am/page/1606

•    Support for organic (certified or willing to get certified) agribusinesses in all regions of Armenia and in all value-chains. All value chains are selected in this component.
           To apply, please visit: https://mineconomy.am/page/1613

The support for small scale agribusinesses will be provided through agricultural production machinery and equipment, post-harvest and processing equipment and some infrastructural inputs. Successful applicants will also be involved in the capacity building and marketing initiatives of the EU-GAIA project, ensuring their green/organic business projects to have a successful start and progress. Only fixed assets will be provided, not monetary grants.

Preference will be given to agribusinesses run by women as well as young people and vulnerable groups.

Applications will be selected per the set criteria and methodology. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.