On an early December morning, 31-year-old Hovsep Hambardzumyan turns on the engine of his mobile feed grinding mill, attaches it to his car, and heads to Tolors, a village nestled in the north of Armenia’s Sisian Region.
Hovsep is the only person in Sisian who has such a machine and it serves hundreds of locals year-round, thus delivering affordable and easy-to-reach services.
His invention was made possible through FAR’s Farming Support Project, which provided Hovsep with the financial and technical assistance to implement the project.
This particular morning, Hovsep was going to grind around 500 kg of wheat, corn, and grain for basic animal feed to be used here throughout the winter until animals are taken to the mountains in mid-spring.
Originally from Sisian, Hovsep used to work in Russia before he decided to move back home to establish a farm with his father and brother.
“When we established the farm, we had problems grinding the feed for our pigs. We would have to wait for hours to grind raw materials. It was a waste of time and energy. I decided to create a mobile grinding mill that would not only serve our farm but also people from remote villages who used to bring their wheat and grain reserves to Sisian for grinding,” he said. “The challenging part for me when writing the business plan was the technical nuances of the mill, but I got help with that, and my project got approved.”
Hovsep used to travel to more remote villages and grind the feed on weekends. He has found this service so needed that he's thinking of quitting his current job at the local stone factory and fully focus on his business. “It’s cost-effective and profitable. Besides, it will allow me to spend more time with my three daughters, Eva, Sona, and Elen,” he said.
FAR has been able to support family farmers through a Small Business Assistance project sponsored by Howard Atesian of Michigan and Leon Semonian of Massachusetts.
You, too, can make a difference to local farmers in Armenia and support FAR's Economic Development Program today.
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