In Goris, participants of the “Nexus Goris” project presented their business ideas for establishing greenhouse farms to the evaluation committee. The 18 participants introduced the types of crops they proposed to cultivate, their plans for growing and marketing them, as well as calculations of the costs of establishing greenhouses and the expected income. They suggested growing colorful squash, various types of tomatoes, bell peppers of different colors, cucumbers, and greens — all of which enjoy high market demand and comparatively higher prices.

The committee was composed of Arman Valesyan,  UNDP’s Sustainable Communities programme manager; Sergey Chashikhin, representative of the Embassy of the Russian Federation; and Irina Yolyan, Deputy Head of Goris community.

“The results of the programme were impressive. We listened in detail to all the participants’ presentations. It is interesting that almost all participants came up with unique ideas about cultivating crops with high market demand. The main goal of the Nexus Goris programme is to strengthen the urban-rural link and foster mutual development. After summarizing the results, we will consider options for integrating the Nexus model into other programmes,” noted Arman Valesyan, Head of UNDP’s Sustainable Communities programme.

“We are glad that such important projects are being implemented with the financial support of the Russian Federation. During our visit to Syunik, we managed to visit several greenhouse farms and saw for ourselves that the projects are truly successful, and people’s lives and livelihoods are genuinely changing,” emphasized Sergey Chashikhin, representative of the Russian Embassy.

The UNDP Sustainable Communities programme initially launched the Nexus Goris initiative as a pilot project for the settlements of Verinshen and Akner in the Goris community of Syunik region. This model brings together the resources and capacities of rural and urban communities, fostering cooperation and creating new opportunities for economic development.

“We have long-standing cooperation with the UNDP Sustainable Communities programme and have recorded many positive results. The project’s success is first and foremost a major achievement for the community, as it improves people’s quality of life,” highlighted Irina Yolyan, Deputy Head of Goris community.

Applicants who expressed interest in joining the programme first participated in a two-day theoretical training in Goris on “Cultivation of Plants in Greenhouse Conditions,” followed by a two-day training on business and entrepreneurship model development.

The final selection of beneficiaries will be made based on the overall results of all trainings, capacity-building sessions, and the evaluation committee’s assessments.