“SMART” APPROACH TO EFFICIENT WATER RESOURCE USAGE Anna Yeritsyan June 26-29, Ravello, Italy

Overview of the fish industry in Armenia Preconditions Low costs of starting a fish farm Low costs of water required for operating a fish farm Results About fish farms opening and operating in Ararat Valley Booming industry since early 2000-s

Economic benefits Volumes of fish production increased 18 times from 2005 to 2014 Fish is within the top five categories of agricultural exports (30,5 mln USD) Fish production volumes in 2014 about 24 thous. tones Source: Uncomtrade database

Average fish farm layout

Environmental concerns Fish farm water usage patterns – single cycle Decreasing levels of groundwater Lack of water for irrigation in the valley Permittable level of groundwater abstraction (1093 MCM) used only by the fish farms Source: Mendez England and Associates, (2013)

Distribution of fish farms in Ararat valley by the water usage permits

Integrated fish farming systems

Option 1 Construction of an irrigation canal to direct the discharge water to the nearest community -Primary water main (300 m 50 mm plastic sewage pipes) - about 160 Euros kwt pump – 287 Euros - Construction supplies – 74 Euros Total material expenses – a little over 500 Euros

Option 2 Building a small aquaponics greenhouse and recirculating the water ◦Nutrients in discharge water help plants grow ◦Additional income for farmer (diversification) ◦Residues from biomass may serve as feed for fish stock ◦Water reuse and additional source of clean water

Option 2 Calculations 100 square meters plastic greenhouse construction – 4,630 Euros Water testing photometer – 560 Euros PVC pipes – 1,018 Euros Pump – 288 Euros Plastic plant beds – 1,850 Euros Heating system – 1,040 Euros Total material expenses – under 10,000 Euros

Type of the activityCost of the activity Cost of the activity (own labour) Purchasing seeds 14 Planting seeds in the ground Replanting the seedlings in the raft Heating 343 Insecticides/spraying 93 Labour for maintenance of the greenhouse 1300 Harvest 200 Delivery to the market 189 Total expenditure Total harvest (kg) 900 Total revenue 1170 Total profit (Total revenue - Total expenditure

Expansion opportunities The calculated cycle of salad growing can be implemented 2 times a year. In addition if the fishery has a WUP of 30 litres per second, so the average usage of water in the greenhouse will be nearly 27% of all available water. This implies that the scale of greenhouse operations can be expanded 3 times upon the need.

Anna Yeritsyan (+374) , ext.11 Thank you