"I have been a Parliament member for 12 years I do now know about a single case when a citizen got a loan and then paid it off," Hakob Hakobyan, Chairman of the Committee on Social Affairs, Armenian Parliament, told journalists March 1. He pointed out that budget loans totaling one billion AMD were issued to victims of political repressions, but only 8% of the funds have so far been repaid. The Government even intended to file suits, but later decided to extent the repayment terms.

On the other hand, Hakobyan is strongly for the issuance of soft loans to farmers for agricultural development. "They used to complain about a low price for meat so they did not want to engage in stock raising. Now the meat price is high, the cattle head remains low," Hakobyan said.

Hakobyan does not share the opinion that the fodder price has risen.

Vazgen Safaryan, Chairman of the Union of Native Commodity Producers, said that farmers prefer slaughtering their animals to get benefits. He believes the state should establish agricultural production and organize free water-supply to farmers in the borderline regions.