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Food Law Expert, Food Safety Doctoral Researcher Davit Pipoyan considers the report issued by the UN about malnutrition in Armenian households a wake-up call.

“We all must come to our senses. If we don’t realize that this is a national security issue, we will be facing serious problems in several years,” told Pipoyan to Panorama.am.

The Armenia Comprehensive Food Security, Vulnerability and Nutrition Analysis (CFSVNA) explored the distribution of food insecurity and malnutrition. The report informs that in 2014 among children under 5 years old, 19% were stunted rising by 6% compared with the data of 2005.

According to the expert, a single tandem of departments, including the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Labour and Social Issues is needed to improve the situation.

Pipoyan recalled the development of a concept on food security in Armenia back in 2011 stressing that the concept was lacking the necessary tools to ensure measurable results.

According to the expert, there are serious gaps in the food law in Armenia in legal and infrastructural terms that demand immediate resolution.

“When we speak about malnutrition, ordinary people think that it’s about physical access to food, yet it should be kept in mind that proper nutrition is not only the daily calories, but also the consumption of other nutrients, micro and macro components and vitamins in the appropriate quantity,” Pipoyan said.

According to him, rural communities in Armenia in poor condition have a greater impact on the overall level of poverty. In this respect, the expert suggested two mechanism towards the resolution of the problem: either to promote and encourage small or medium farms, or to make food prices more affordable.

The expert recalled the example of Belarus, where the state provides its citizens with social food. There are farms in the country, which are requested upon state policy to provide food for socially disadvantaged.
Pipoyan sadly noticed that such projects aren’t implemented in Armenia.