A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The Government has approved the Crop Support Program due to the need to increase the level of self-sufficiency of the Republic of Armenia, increase the cultivated areas of agricultural crops and increase productivity. The purpose of the regulation is to increase the level of food security by expanding the sowing areas of cereal crops (spring wheat, spring barley, corn, oats), legumes (peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas) and perennial herbs (alfalfa, korgan), while distributing the above cultivation of crops according to the regions of the country. The beneficiary of the project can be the farmers who cultivate crops with an area of up to 100 ha (excluding plot near the house), moreover, the sum of the cultivated areas of each beneficiary within the scope of the project cannot exceed 100 ha, and if there are co-owners of the same plot of land, only one co-owner can benefit from the program. Compensation will be provided in the limits of AMD 70,000 – 110,000 per 1 hectare of plot, depending on the type of cultivation. An earnest exchange of ideas took place around the topic, a number of questions, observations and recommendations were presented. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the mechanisms should be improved to avoid abuses. "Despite concerns, this is not a reason for us not to make this decision. We have to work, that is, we have to understand and improve the mechanism." Summing up, the Prime Minister instructed to the Minister of Economy, regional governors, heads of communities to work very carefully. The Head of the Government also instructed to create mechanisms to deliver the money to the farmers, so that there would be no cases when the farmers do not receive the money due to "bad credit history".

In order to ensure the continuity of the state support programs for housing security, in particular, the one-time cash support and child birth support programs for 2020-2023 for families with children, the Government adopted a decision. In particular, it is planned to extend the validity period of the programs until 2026. At the same time, certain changes are planned that will increase the efficiency of the programs. In particular, it is proposed to establish that from January 1, 2024 the mortgage support and mortgage repayment support programs will continue in the regions with certain changes.

Davit Khachatryan also informed that as of today there are 606 confirmed transactions in border settlements. "Also, I should mention that 7 families forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh have also been confirmed as beneficiaries. That is, their citizenship status has been adjusted to the condition. They are mostly families with children and will soon build their own house," said the deputy minister. Nikol Pashinyan saluted that fact. "They are the first beneficiaries forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. I am glad that 7 families have already been approved as the beneficiaries of the program. In other words, they have a plot of land in the border village, they have already received or will surely receive the money or they will start construction."

The Prime Minister inquired whether there are any houses being built within the framework of the project in the border areas of Tavush region. Governor Hayk Ghalumyan presented the data for February. Thus, commercial banks approved about 250 loans in Tavush region. The Head of the Government emphasized the program. "It is good that the process has started there as well. These numbers are somewhat indicative of how much people believe in the peace agenda. This is important: it is necessary to encourage people to be more active, especially in those areas, and with our support, this process will take place in the villages as well. It is a very important program and we must continue it. I am sure that it will also bring a good economic effect to the Republic of Armenia, especially in the regions."

The Government adopted a decision proposing to allocate 6.9 billion AMD for road repairs, as well as payment for completed construction works (5%). The total length of road sections under repair and construction is 57.2 km.