Oxfam, One Armenia Team Up to Lift Lives in Tavush

Workers at a women’s cooperative in Tavush
BY SEROUJ APRAHAMIAN
IJEVAN, Armenia””We live in a world today where development is purported to hinge on services and technological innovation. To be competitive in the global economy, countries are told they must enter the information age and develop sectors such as IT. This penchant for progress is certainly a positive one. But creating the economy of the future must first start with the most fundamental base of production and sustenance: agriculture.
Today, agriculture accounts for 19% of Armenia’s GDP and 37% of the employed workforce in the country. It is also a quickly growing sector providing for the largest share of contributions to annual growth. For Armenia, the efficient and sustainable cultivation of land””generating incomes that can then build the base for greater economic activity””is essential for both prosperity and self-sufficiency.
That is why a recent campaign launched by Oxfam in Armenia and One Armenia to support female agricultural cooperatives in Armenia’s border villages is so important.
“Since 2010, Oxfam has helped establish cooperatives in 15 villages across Armenia, including four in the critical region of Tavush,”