According to Anahit Harutunyan, the owner of the Sunny Food canned goods production in the Gharibjanyan community of Shirak Marz, their business is based on the principles of green agriculture: they create new good by using nature's harvest and wealth, without harming nature and sparingly using water and energy resources.
The Harutiunyan family entrusted Anahit with the management of the canned food factory, which was founded in the early 2000s and operates intermittently, when she was only 19 years old.
The first thought of a young girl who became a business owner was how to start, where to start...
The Green Agriculture Initiative in Armenia (EU-GAIA) project, co-financed by the European Union and the Austrian Development Cooperation, is becoming a turning point to re-equip and restart the factory.
"When we noticed the phrase "green agriculture" in the project announcement, we understood that it was about us. We use local fruits and vegetables produced by the farmers, returning the waste from their processing (fruit and vegetable peels, fruit pulp, etc.) to them for use as fodder or natural fertilizer. In order to efficiently use the water used in the processing process, we direct it to the irrigated areas”, says Anahit and notes “for small countries like Armenia, I think it is very important to ensure multiple use of raw materials and sparing use of natural resources.
Sunny Food receives support from Green Agriculture Initiative in Armenia project not only in the form of a solar system, refrigerators, but also automatic labeling equipment.
The solar system received as technical support almost completely meets the energy needs of the factory, contributing to the introduction of green agriculture and innovative approaches, and the presence of refrigerators makes it possible to store up and preserve the useful properties of the stocked fruits and vegetables in the long term.
Highlighting the victory achieved with the grant program, Anahit emphasizes that thanks to the program, they received more than just technical support.
"The program has given us a lot of motivation to restart and expand the business in the borderline rural area. It gave us hope to start all over again, to develop our business with new momentum and in a more efficient way."
Full text in Armenian
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About EU-GAIA project
The EU Green Agriculture Initiative (EU-GAIA) is currently the largest agricultural project in Armenia, funded by the European Union (EU) and co-financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) ). The project is implemented by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The project government counterpart is the RA Ministry of Economy. The Project is aimed at facilitating the development of sustainable, inclusive, innovative and market-oriented agribusinesses․
