YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, NOYAN TAPAN. At the January 12 sitting, the Armenian government made a decision to allocate 508.8 mln drams (about 1.4 mln USD) from the RA government's reserve fund to the RA Ministry of Agriculture for providing assistance to land users of the communities afflicted by drought. The minister of agriculture was instructed to ensure the purchase and import of cultured plant seeds to be sown in spring and their distribution to Armenian marzes. The regional governors were instructed to ensure and control the receipt, transportation and disctribution of seeds to communities. The interdepartmental commission, which was created to coordinate measures on mitigation of the drought consequences, was instructed to conduct studies in communities to check the transparency and fairness of seed distribution process. According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, it was noted at the sitting that the studies conducted in Armenian marzes show that out of 123.2 thousand ha of grain and groats sowing areas in 457 communities afflicted by drought, 64.3 thousand ha was damaged as a result of the drought. By another decision, in the first quarter of this year, 22 mln 50 thousand drams will be allocated from the RA government's 2007 reserve fund to the Shirak regional administration as 10% co-financing by Armenian communities by the Rural Areas Economic Development Program implemented with the assistance of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). Out of this sum, 10 mln 210 thousand drams and 11 mln 840 thousand drams will be allocated to the Meghrashen and Lusaghbyur villages of Shirak marz for repairs of intercommunity roads.

---