(Source: Agencia Prensa Armenia)

BUENOS AIRES (Agencia Prensa Armenia)—Representatives of the Armenian agricultural sector visited Argentina to explore new forms of cooperation in agricultural technology and machinery on September 1 at the Argentine-Armenian Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Buenos Aires.

The event was attended by Director of the Agricultural Support Republican Center Ashot Vahanyan, Deputy Director of the Scientific Center of Agriculture Ruzanna Sadoyan, representative of Armenia Fund Vardan Partamyan, and Anna Karapetyan, assistant of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, along with Virginia Rumbolo and Federico Wahlberg representing the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture, the consul of the Embassy of Armenia, Ester Mkrtumyan, and the director of the Argentine-Armenian Chamber, Ohanes Bogiatzian.

The delegation visited Cordoba, Mendoza, and other regions of Argentina and met with the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Casamiquela. “We also had the support of President of National Agricultural Technology Institute, Francisco Anglesio” said Bogiatzian.

During the meeting, they discussed the possibilities of mutual cooperation in agricultural matters. Armenian officials were interested in small machinery of direct sowing and expressed the need to generate a cultural change in the country’s farmers for them to adopt these new technologies. “It is important that we test some equipment to show the advantages and benefits of this method,” said Vahanyan.

“Not only do we see opportunities in direct seeding, but in everything related to the agricultural machinery, where Argentina has very advanced equipment,” added Sadoyan. Furthermore, Partamyan announced that they were planning to carry out “a pilot project where machinery [would be] placed in a community,” to show the concrete benefits.

“We understand that Armenia is a small country, but the Armenian businessmen have interests in other countries of the former Soviet Union,” said Bogiatzian in an interview with Prensa Armenia. “What works in Armenia can be replicated in all countries in which they are active. The Armenian market is small, but through Armenia they can access other countries.”