YEREVAN, December 21. /ARKA/. The government of Armenia has approved today a pilot program designed to subsidize interest rates on loans to be provided to farmers engaged in intensive gardening.
The government said it has earmarked a total of 1.7 billion drams ($3.5 million) for subsidizing the loans which are supposed to total 4.4 billion drams ($9.2 million) to be provided from 2018 to 2024.

The loans will be provided with a seven-year repayment period at the annual rate of 14%. Due to government subsidies, the real rate will be 5%.

According to the government, in 2016 orchards in Armenia made about 40.5 thousand hectares. The government says that as a result of the pilot program’s implementation the area under ​​intensive gardening will grow by 200 hectares.

Intensive gardening is a method of gardening in which humans work with nature to foster healthy, vibrant plants with smaller space and less water than more traditional gardening.-0—