Armenian Farmers Rely on President and Prime Minister for Compensation

Farmers in the town of Narek in the Ararat Province of Armenia, who have lost close to half of their crop to hail, believe that the issue of compensation can be solved only by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, or Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, a Narek resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said in a phone conversation with Epress.am. According to the source, the farmers do not pin their hopes on the officials from the district administration and the Ministry of Agriculture.

On Sunday, May 24, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan and vice-governor of Ararat province Ashot Vardanyan arrived in Narek to assess the damage caused due to the hailstorm on May 23; however, the officials did not mention anything about a compensation. 

The farmers recalled that in 2014, when they lost their harvest due to frost, the government decided to free them from land taxes. “Although this offer would be pointless now. People have suffered AMD 2-3 millions in damages; the land tax is AMD 6-7 thousand,” the source said. 

On Monday, May 25, the residents of Narek held a protest demanding compensation for their losses. After the rally, a working group came to the town, led by a department head in the Ministry of Agriculture, in order to assess the damage and send the results to the regional administration.