Compensations paid by Armenian authorities are not enough to cover the losses from hail, farmers assert

Villagers from Mrgashat, Armavir Region of Armenia, where on May 12 a huge hail killed the crops, said that the seeds provided by the authorities are not enough to compensate for the damages and pay back the loans.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the hail on May 12 hit 46 rural communities; most of them in the Armavir Region; in 22 of them the crops were completely destroyed. According to preliminary estimates, the damage caused by the hail to the agriculture of the Armavir Region was worth about 25 billion drams (about 60 million US dollars).

On May 22, in the course of the meeting of the Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan with community heads, it was decided to freeze the loans taken by peasants in banks and convert dollar loans into drams, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by the press service of the Armenian government.

"The peasants of the communities, where the crops were affected in part, will pay their land and irrigation taxes at the rate of 50%. Farmers will be provided with seeds, fertilizers and fuel. In the first place, they will receive free seeds of vegetables, melons, and corn," explained a press officer.

"Villagers are in a hardship. The govt decided to compensate the hail damage with seeds, but who needs them now? What can you grow at this time of the year; just a couple of melons? Can you nourish families or cover up loans with them?" asked an outraged resident of the village, who did not want to introduce myself.

The Central Bank of Armenia has asked commercial banks to review the terms of agricultural loans for the benefit of the farmers, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by the press service of the Central Bank.

"But the decision to freeze the loans was taken. Each bank by itself should decide which approach to apply to a particular farmer,'' said Mary Shaginyan, the spokespersons of the Central Bank.