Greenhouse Practical Training Cultivates Agricultural Skills

July 26, 2024

Greenhouse Practical Training Cultivates Agricultural Skills

Participants of the “Greenhouse” initiative of the UNDP “Sustainable Communities” programme took part in a two-day practical course at the experimental greenhouse of the Scientific Center of Vegetable and Industrial Crops (SCVIC). The “Greenhouse” program was launched in Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik, and Syunik marzes. Residents of the border villages in the Kapan, Goris, Vaik, Areni, Vardenis, and Chambarak communities, as well as displaced persons now living in these communities, applied.

A total of 167 people applied to participate in the program, with 160 attending the theoretical course of the first stage. 100 participants successfully passed the exam. The expert group visited the residences of all 100 participants and assessed the soil conditions. 20 participants advanced to the second stage of the project and have already participated in a practical course at the experimental greenhouse of the Scientific Center of Vegetable and Industrial Crops (SCVIC).

“After the theoretical lecture of the first stage, the enthusiasm of the participants can already be seen at this stage of the program, when they get to know the greenhouse economy in practice, the quality of the questions also changes,” said trainer and candidate of biological sciences, Gayane Martirosyan.

During the theoretical course, the model of establishing a greenhouse economy was comprehensively presented to the participants. They became acquainted with the types of greenhouses, systems, and greenhouse crops. At the practical course in the experimental greenhouse, participants got closely acquainted with greenhouse systems, including support, cooling, shading, disease diagnosis mechanisms, and plant species.

22-year-old Vahram Ivanyan from the Nor Aznaberd settlement in Vayots Dzor marz has decided that if he becomes a beneficiary of the project, he will turn the greenhouse into a family business. "For 4 years now, I have been studying various fields of agriculture and conducting experiments. At first, I decided to engage in fish farming, then beekeeping, and when I learned about the 'Greenhouse 2024' program, I decided to apply," says Vahram, who lived in the Russian Federation for many years before returning to Armenia and staying in his native village. Vahram participated in the military operations of 2020. "The practical course was very effective because until this moment I knew almost nothing about the greenhouse economy, and now I already know where to start and what to do," says Vahram.

Another participant of the program, Tatevik Barseghyan, has been engaged in greenhouse farming in Nagorno-Karabakh for many years and now lives in Vardenis, Gegharkunik region. "When we came to Vardenis, we didn't have any source of income. I went to work at the school, but I needed an additional source of income. When I found out about the program, I applied without thinking too much because I was involved in greenhouse farming before and I was sure that I could overcome the stages," says Tatevik. She emphasizes, "During the courses, I gained new in-depth knowledge that I didn't know before. For example, there are several types of soil nutrition, it turns out, and we know one or, at best, two. There are many subtleties, and it is with these subtleties that it is possible to get a high-quality and abundant harvest."

16 participants will become beneficiaries of the program in the most recent stage. At the final selection stage, the results of the examination and the social conditions of the applicants will be taken into account. In the competition, priority will be given to refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, people affected by the conflicts of 2020 and 2023, and their family members.