AM PARTNERS

The European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) launched in Armenia in January 2015 and will last for three years. The Programme is designed to support the agricultural institutions, encourage the development of farmers’ associations and improve access to more affordable food in the European Neighborhood countries.

Within the framework of the Program, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) provides technical support to the Government of Armenia in close cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, local authorities and other stakeholders. “ENPARD Armenia Technical Assistance: Producer Group and Value Chain Development” project is implemented by UNIDO and UNDP. The technical assistance component focuses on producer groups and value chain development, production volume expansion, product development, technology upgrading, marketing, as well as introducing best agricultural practices and disaster risk reduction systems. The direct beneficiaries of the project are agricultural producers, members of producer groups and their employees, their families and SMEs along the value chains, as well as Armenian consumers. Women, youth and other vulnerable groups are in the spotlight of the project.

As of April 2016, 15 agricultural cooperatives operating in various marzes of Armenia were selected in the scope of ENPARD Project that would receive technical assistance in the form of commodity grant (tools and equipment). At the same time, ENPARD Project supports these cooperatives in the development of own brand and packaging of future products, also the development of marketing strategy. The implementation of this task by AM Partners Consulting Company targeted at addressing these issues.

15 selected agricultural cooperatives produce the following foodstuffs:

• Dried food and herbs producers: 6 cooperatives,
• High value (Gauda cheese, Roquefort cheese) and traditional (Lori cheese, Chanakh cheese) cheese producers: 6 cooperatives,
• Buckwheat producers: 2 cooperatives,
• Broccoli producer: 1 cooperative.

The Task comprises the following stages:

• Developing trademark options for 15 agricultural cooperatives,
• Selecting trademarks for 15 agricultural cooperatives and registering them with Intellectual Property Agency under RA Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, in accordance with the national procedures,   
• Developing packaging options for future products of 15 agricultural cooperatives,
• Selecting packaging options for future products of 15 agricultural cooperatives and preparing work files for print out,  
• Developing marketing strategies for cooperatives engaged in the production of 4 different commodity groups, with clear activities listed and the assessment of their schedule and budget.

In the result of properly designed marketing policy, currently 15 agricultural cooperatives have successful performance, employing more than 70 persons.