FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 09/01 - ARMENIA* (20 September)
Improved precipitation and better soil moisture contributed to a recovery in cereal production from a severely droughtreduced harvest the previous year. FAO tentatively estimates grain output at 352 000 tonnes from an estimated cultivated area of 189 000 hectares (2000: 225 000 tonnes, area 181 000 ha). Wheat production in 2001 at 275 000 tonnes is nearly double the harvest obtained last year, 151 000 tonnes. Official estimates point to a wheat harvest of 340 000 tonnes. Insufficient improved seeds and fertilizers as well as drought, in particular in the southern provinces bordering Iran and Azerbaijan, are reported to be contributing factors to below average production levels, despite significant efforts to increase area under cereals.
Potato production, a major staple food crop, this year is estimated at 287 000 tonnes, similar to 2000 level but more than 30 percent below the average production levels in 1990s. Total cereal import requirement in 2001/02 is seen to reach 398 000 tonnes, including 101 000 tonnes of food aid. Cereal imports in 2000/01 were 369 000 tonnes.
WFP has extended its emergency food assistance to drought victims until the end of December 2001, which has been fully integrated with the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) launched on 1 July 2001. Under this two-year programme, WFP intends to provide over 60 000 tonnes of food supplies to some 280 000 recipients (140,000 per year). The targeted areas include the provinces of Gegharkunik, Syunik, Tavush, Shirak, and the Capital City of Yerevan as well as the drought-affected regions in the southern part of Armenia.