Sheep breeding helps farmers to survive & remain in remote Avazan Village
“It is hard to take care of a large family consisting of seven members. My parents are retired. Children grow and their needs grow. However, now that we have more goats and sheep, I feel that my family is more secure because we have little but stable income”, says Sergey Tsaturyan proudly.
Sergey has three children. Bavakan, 8, and Mariam, 6, go to school. They are both involved in World Vision’s Sponsorship Programme supported by World Vision France. Sergey’s wife Irina, 30, takes care of little Yeghish, 4. She also helps Sergey to care for their livestock.
now that we have more goats and sheep, I feel that my family is more secure because we have little but stable income “We received three sheep and three goats from World Vision. Goats gave birth to five kids. We sold two of them and spent that money to buy stationary and clothes for the children to go to school”, says Sergey’s mother Bavakan, 68.
“We gave the third kid to our neighbour who has two children. They also have a goat now”, adds Mariam.
Avazan is located 200km from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The land here is not very fertile and animal breeding is the only business that can bring some profit. Farmers face many problems because of the harsh climate with its long and cold winters, as well as a lack of initial capital and veterinarian services, bad roads and infrastructure.
“The meat market is very far. We have to drive around 25km to sell the sheep or the meat. But we don’t have enough livestock and it is not worth reaching the city market. We have to sell our animals through middlemen and have less income from the sales than those who live closer to the city”, explains Sergey.
But thanks to a livestock breeding programme implemented by a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) established by World Vision in 2008, Avazan villagers are now able to start competing in this market.
Farmers that received sheep contribute 1,000 AMD (US$2.60) per month to the CBO over 24 months to generate a revolving fund. The money generated will be used to address issues raised by the community, which means that a wider group of people will benefit from the fund.
“The villagers do not have initial capital to purchase animals; each sheep costs around 33,000 AMD (US$88). We offer them a mechanism where they do not invest any money to purchase animals. Farmers pay back little by little only 25% of the cost of the animal to the CBO. The villagers gain and the community gains”, says Zorik Karapetyan, Vardenis ADP Sponsorship Coordinator.
We will sell some of them and spend the income wisely - on urgent needs of the children World Vision also helped to establish six Farmers Associations in Vardenis ADP communities in order to assist them in purchasing feed, selling the animals and meat and having access to a veterinarian – all with the aim to reduce costs and enable farmers to generate more profit. Any problems or issues related to the livestock breeding project are also addressed through these associations.
With no job opportunities in Avazan, initiatives like this livestock breeding project are crucial to keeping able-bodied men and women in the area. Seasonal migration very often is the only way for farmers to earn money and feed the family. Men search for jobs primarily in Russia and the Ukraine working on construction, which separates families for up to half a year. And, money earned during this period is usually spent on urgent needs and is still not enough to acquire even basic agricultural machinery or livestock.
“Many farmers are forced to go out of Armenia, stay far and work hard to earn a living for their families. With this project we aim to help farmers to have a stable source of income in their motherland. This can encourage many farmers to start breeding animals”, explains Vardan Aghajanyan, World Vision Armenia Vardenis ADP Manager.
“Now we expect that the sheep will deliver and we will have five more lambs. We will sell some of them and spend the income wisely - on urgent needs of the children”, says mother Irina, 30.
World Vision Armenia’s Vardenis Area Development Programme initiated a calf, sheep and goat breeding project for 481 families in 18 ADP communities, funded by World Vision France.
Sergey has three children. Bavakan, 8, and Mariam, 6, go to school. They are both involved in World Vision’s Sponsorship Programme supported by World Vision France. Sergey’s wife Irina, 30, takes care of little Yeghish, 4. She also helps Sergey to care for their livestock.
now that we have more goats and sheep, I feel that my family is more secure because we have little but stable income “We received three sheep and three goats from World Vision. Goats gave birth to five kids. We sold two of them and spent that money to buy stationary and clothes for the children to go to school”, says Sergey’s mother Bavakan, 68.
“We gave the third kid to our neighbour who has two children. They also have a goat now”, adds Mariam.
Avazan is located 200km from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The land here is not very fertile and animal breeding is the only business that can bring some profit. Farmers face many problems because of the harsh climate with its long and cold winters, as well as a lack of initial capital and veterinarian services, bad roads and infrastructure.
“The meat market is very far. We have to drive around 25km to sell the sheep or the meat. But we don’t have enough livestock and it is not worth reaching the city market. We have to sell our animals through middlemen and have less income from the sales than those who live closer to the city”, explains Sergey.
But thanks to a livestock breeding programme implemented by a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) established by World Vision in 2008, Avazan villagers are now able to start competing in this market.
Farmers that received sheep contribute 1,000 AMD (US$2.60) per month to the CBO over 24 months to generate a revolving fund. The money generated will be used to address issues raised by the community, which means that a wider group of people will benefit from the fund.
“The villagers do not have initial capital to purchase animals; each sheep costs around 33,000 AMD (US$88). We offer them a mechanism where they do not invest any money to purchase animals. Farmers pay back little by little only 25% of the cost of the animal to the CBO. The villagers gain and the community gains”, says Zorik Karapetyan, Vardenis ADP Sponsorship Coordinator.
We will sell some of them and spend the income wisely - on urgent needs of the children World Vision also helped to establish six Farmers Associations in Vardenis ADP communities in order to assist them in purchasing feed, selling the animals and meat and having access to a veterinarian – all with the aim to reduce costs and enable farmers to generate more profit. Any problems or issues related to the livestock breeding project are also addressed through these associations.
With no job opportunities in Avazan, initiatives like this livestock breeding project are crucial to keeping able-bodied men and women in the area. Seasonal migration very often is the only way for farmers to earn money and feed the family. Men search for jobs primarily in Russia and the Ukraine working on construction, which separates families for up to half a year. And, money earned during this period is usually spent on urgent needs and is still not enough to acquire even basic agricultural machinery or livestock.
“Many farmers are forced to go out of Armenia, stay far and work hard to earn a living for their families. With this project we aim to help farmers to have a stable source of income in their motherland. This can encourage many farmers to start breeding animals”, explains Vardan Aghajanyan, World Vision Armenia Vardenis ADP Manager.
“Now we expect that the sheep will deliver and we will have five more lambs. We will sell some of them and spend the income wisely - on urgent needs of the children”, says mother Irina, 30.
World Vision Armenia’s Vardenis Area Development Programme initiated a calf, sheep and goat breeding project for 481 families in 18 ADP communities, funded by World Vision France.
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