Business simulation trainings for small agricultural businesses

In 2021, SHEN NGO and Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für Internationale Kooperation (DSIK) agreed on partnership under the project on promoting sustainable SME development. As part of the agreement, a pilot training session on the Micro-Entrepreneurs’ Simulation Training and the Farmers’ Business Simulation Training was conducted for SHEN’s team. This was followed by capacity building workshops and training-of-trainers with selected employees of SHEN NGO. This should subsequently benefit the farmers, farmer cooperatives, agricultural vocational students, micro-entrepreneurs, and small-scale farmers across rural Armenia.

14 trainers from SHEN have completed the trainings with DSIK. These trainers have not only led workshops for the NGO’s beneficiaries but have also shared their expertise with various educational institutions, agricultural colleges, and regional districts in recent years. Participants in these workshops acquire essential skills in business creation, professionalization of business processes, analysis of market dynamics and competitors as well as on how to define prices realistically. Moreover, they gain insights into economic principles, financial management, marketing strategies, and basic accounting practices.

The joint efforts of SHEN NGO and DSIK also address key challenges in the agricultural sector. Together, they have developed a concept note to enhance agricultural consultation services and revitalize advisory systems in Armenia. “Our collaboration was highly effective because we share common goals and approaches – engaging youth in agriculture, stemming rural emigration, and fostering youth entrepreneurship,” says Nvard Shahmuradyan.

Empowering Agricultural Cooperatives

One of the ongoing programs of SHEN NGO is focused on the development of agricultural cooperatives. This initiative encompasses a range of activities, including the implementation of the simulation training courses for members of 25 cooperatives.

“The simulations trainings provide participants with practical and relevant knowledge for cooperative business development,” Shahmuradyan emphasizes. “I believe that this will help guiding our beneficiaries as they grow their businesses or cooperatives.”

In the early 1990s, Armenia began a massive privatization of agricultural assets, leading to the creation of over 340,000 small farms averaging 1.5 hectares each. But the rise of small, scattered farms that had outdated agricultural practices posed challenges to their sustainability and growth. Limited access to modern infrastructure, financial services, and markets worsened rural poverty. To address these issues, SHEN NGO started innovative projects many years ago to increase rural incomes by forming and advancing agricultural cooperatives that bring farmers together to solve their common challenges.

“Farmers working together can achieve much more than those working alone,” Shahmuradyan explains. “By pooling resources, they can use land more efficiently, access better agricultural machinery, and create a reliable supply chain from planting to distribution. While one farmer may struggle, a joint cooperative has more possibilities.”

Support for Displaced Families from Artsakh

In response to the events of September 2023, SHEN NGO has undertaken a crucial initiative to support families forcibly displaced from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Over the next few months, about three hundred of these families will join the organization’s agricultural projects that will help them integrate into Armenia and secure sustainable livelihoods.

Extensive surveys conducted among these displaced families revealed a shared desire to engage in micro-entrepreneurship within the agricultural sector. SHEN aims to empower these families by supplying essential resources such as livestock, farming tools, seeds, and other necessities tailored to their specific needs.