The StartUp Innovation:        

The team plans to establish a technically equipped professional laboratory and provide consultancy services in the field of plant breeding.

The innovation of the startup:

• Diagnosis and identification of species composition of harmful organisms,
• Pest prevalence mapping.

In the framework of the AgriThon2 we talked with Margarit Ghazaryan, the Project Coordinator.

Participation in the AgriThon2 Incubations            

• We are glad that we had an opportunity to participate in the AgriThon2 Incubations of the AGRI CAMP Program, during which we gained new knowledge and skills, as well as new contacts. Although within the framework of the AgriThon 2 our team started working on the idea of ​​”Alternative Measures of Control Against the Colorado Potato Beetle in Potato Fields”, however, developing it and further studying the field, we realized that the need for specialized laboratories equipped with technical and technological means is much more relevant for the development of the field.

The startup is to solve the following problems:  

Farmers are generally not familiar with the harmful pests of agricultural crops and in order to fight against them, they use wrong pesticides, harming nature and thus creating a food security problem.

The goal of the startup is to create a modern laboratory for plant protection, where a number of sectorial services will be provided:

1. Identification of pests,
2. Diagnosis of diseases,
3. Diagnosis of other harmful pests,
4. Advisory visits to open and closed ground,
5. Damage recording, assessment,
6. Development of combat measures.

The above mentioned services will have high reliability and will be provided at relatively affordable prices.

Target customer groups are agricultural cooperatives and approximately 20,000 of the more than 300,000 farms and greenhouses operating in Armenia.

Stability of the laboratory will depend on the high level of services provided and the right price policy.

Stages of the startup project implementation

It will take about 4 to 4.5 months to open the laboratory.

 

Team members: Margarit Ghazaryan (Team Coordinator), Samvel Asatryan, Armine Manvelyan

Address of the startup: Armavir marz, Armavir extended community, Aygevan administrative territorial unit

 

AgriThon is a competition/platform for startup ideas with innovative solutions in the field of agriculture, implemented by the ICARE-Armenia Foundation within the framework of the USAID-funded AGRI CAMP Program.

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