Armenian Minister of Agriculture Gerasim Alaverdyan says this year has been a hard one for the Armenian agricultural sector. “We’ve had a decline of about 14.5% in crop production,” he told NEWS.am.

As to whether the decline can be accounted for by weather conditions or the Government’s policy, the Minister said: “The weather was the major cause of decline – because similar situations developed in Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,” he said.

Minister Alaverdyan found it difficult to appraise his own work this year. “I do not like appraising my own work. I come to work at 9:00 a.m. and leave at 8:00 or 10:00 p.m. Let our society appraise my work,” the Minister said.