On February 16, EU-ARMENIA: Local Empowerment for Actors for Development (LEAD) 6th Strategic Steering Committee Meeting bi-annual meeting took place, hosted by Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Armenia.

Mr. Frank Hess, Head of the Cooperation Section of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Mr. Vache Terteryan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, made opening remarks and expressed their interest in the upcoming presentations of achievements and results. 

The 14.6 million Euro four-year LEAD programme is comprised of three projects. The LEAD4Shirak project co-financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and implemented by Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the LEAD4Lori and Tavush regions project implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and FAO focus on adaptation and implementation of the EU LEADER methodology. This tried and tested approach identifies and supports community-driven local/rural development initiatives carried out through partnerships between local authorities, private sector and civil society. Thirdly, the EU for Increasing Migrants’ Potential to Act for Development of Armenia (EU4IMPACT) Project implemented by International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) focuses on empowerment of Armenian labour migrants, returnees and their family members through mobilizing remittances and investing in local development and job creation across Armenia.

LEAD4Lori and Tavush Regions Project is implemented by the UNDP with FAO. Mr. Armen Tiraturyan (UNDP) and Ms. Hasmik Kocharyan (FAO), who was also moderating the meeting, presented the main activities performed from 01 July to 31 December, 2023.  Mr. Tiraturyan mentioned that “there is a need for improvement in delivery processes”.  LAGs financed a total of USD 548K grants in local projects worth USD 1.2M including co-financing.  110 initiatives were funded (35 women-led projects) that covered almost all socio-economic development areas of LAG territories.  The Project supports development of the National Territorial Development strategy that will include LEADER Methodology.

Ms. Hasmik Kocharyan presented that out of 30 applications 12 successfully established farmers associations/groups have been set up. Through FAO's support and capacity-building efforts, 77 grant applications in agriculture were strengthened and improved, resulting in the successful funding of 18 agriculture projects by the LAGs. Ms. Kocharyan highlighted that certain resources have been allocated to support refugees that settled in the LAG areas.  Collaboration between UNDP and FAO is strengthened by improving the coordination, communication, and sharing of information among FAO and LAG managers. This will contribute to creating a more cooperative environment, ultimately advancing the achievement of LEAD(ER) goals. The LEAD4Lori-Tavush project has demonstrated exceptional relevance by fostering optimal ownership and active participation among local stakeholders, including farmers. Ms. Kocharyan stated, “hopefully more farmers will be involved in the value chain”.

LEAD4Shirak project manager, Husik Sargsyan, presented main achievements of their project component.  Project activities are aimed at implementation of joint policy dialogue plan and actions with twin projects, continuous promotion of LAGs and their respective strategies.  Totally 64 grant projects have been supported so far.

EU for Increasing Migrants’ Potential to Act for Development of Armenia (EU4IMPACT) Project manajer Andrey Apoyan presented that they have conducted business trainings and business plans for 109  persons, ensured financing and procurement for 52 beneficiaries, organized media tours and radio broadcasts and successfully completed the elaboration of the crowd funding platform for Armenian businesses.

The event was concluded by the overview of main findings and recommendations of the Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) results, presented by Colm McClements.  Mr. McClements highlighted, “a lot is being accomplished, more can be done”.

To wrap-up the event the UNDP Armenia Resident Representative, Natia Natsvlishvili, and FAO Assistant Resident Representative, Gayane Nasoyan, expressed their gratitude and appreciation to the teams working under one roof.  Ms. Natsvlishvili mentioned, that it is important that LAGs can get support at local and national level, and that the activation of the policy component is necessary for further activities.  She added that sustainable reforms take time. In the meantime, Ms. Nasoyan stated that FAO is about partnerships, and that more donors need to be engaged to ensure sustainability of activities.  

The next Strategic Committee meeting will be held in six months and will be hosted by the ICMPD.

The “EU Local Empowerment of Actors for Development in Lori and Tavush Regions” project (EULEAD4Lori and Tavush Regions) is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with UN Food and Agricultural Organization and in close cooperation with the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The project also coordinates its activities with the RA Ministry of Economy.