Agriculture is one of the vital sectors of Armenia’s economy with its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and level of workforce engagement. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the economy with closed borders, limited mobility, disruptions in labour markets, and international trade. The first cases of COVID-19 in Armenia were reported in March 2020. Rapid assessments of the impact of COVID-19 conducted by local research institutions and development organizations identified access to agricultural inputs as the key short-term challenge for farmers (FAO, 2020; UNDP, 2020). The COVID-19 restrictions in place to prevent the spread of the virus also disrupted global supply chains exposing risk to food availability and accessibility.

In December 2021, EV Consulting conducted a study on "Impact assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to food value chains in the Lori and Tavush regions" that aimed to understand the situation of agriculture and rural development after a few waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. It identified key problems and challenges that food value chain actors faced due to the pandemic and developed a set of proposals and recommendations to address them.

The study was carried out as part of the Local Empowerment of Actors for Development (LEAD) Programme funded by the European Union and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

To read the publication, please download it at https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0477en.

LEAD programme

This publication is part of the EU LEAD4Lori and Tavush Regions project funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in close cooperation with Armenia’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The project also works with the Ministry of Economy.

The  project  is implemented in Lori and Tavush regions of Armenia as part of the European Union’s LEADER / Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) concept with the following objectives: a) mobilise, capacitate and incentivise local actors to define community needs-driven strategies in Lori and Tavush regions, b) build supporting infrastructure to prioritise, implement and sustain local-grown initiatives in Lori and Tavush regions and c) improve the capacity of the relevant ministries and other bodies and develop policy mechanisms at the national level for successful piloting and sustainability of the LEADER approach in Armenia.