Income-Generating Activities - Action Against Hunger

Field handbook • Scientific and Technical Department
ditions with special equipment, including cooling tanks). USDA MAP is planning a project
of sheep cheese production, and it might be appropriate to negotiate with them
in bringing a consultant over to Armenia for this project.
The interviews suggest that there is a potential market in specific white wool for
wool processors. The demand on white wool grows annually because of increase of
volume of production of wool processing factories, mainly carpet making factories.
The meat processors interviews have shown that the factories did not use
lamb/mutton in meat products, but they had an experience of making goat sausages.
It is worth mentioning that lamb/mutton meat can be used in semi-cooked products.
By supporting consultant agribusiness organisations in setting up lamb/mutton sausage
– by advising in specificFtechnology usage, lamb/mutton sausage might be produced.
Recommendations
Results of this study reveal several strategies for the lamb/mutton industry:
1. Different sheep should be bred for milk, meat and wool. It should be noted that
the white “balbas” are used primarily for wool.
2. There conditions of milk production should be improved to offer the market
high quality hygienic milk. Special cooling tanks should be used in keeping and
delivering sheep milk to dairy product and cheese processing factories. The
market of Roquefort cheese (where sheep milk is used) and other sheep cheeses
should be taken into consideration for future development.
3. A slaughterhouse should be developed to provide markets (restaurants, retail
stores and markets) with high quality certified lamb/mutton, with special
colour, weight, and age preferences of the market. The packaging will be important.
Customer awareness should be raised by education process. Also, receipts
should be accompanying the pre-packed lamb/mutton sold in the food
market and food stores.
4. A new detailed research is required to find out the usage of lamb/mutton by
consumers.
References
1. Statistical Yearbook of Armenia-2003,
2. A Market Strategy for Sheep Milk Products, by Bowman Richards & Associates,
For Charles Sturt University, RIRDC Project No MS989-16, July 1999
3. www.usda.gov/nass
4. Alfonso, M., Sánchez, A., Sañudo, C., Pardos, J.F., Pardos, J.J., Delfa, R.,
Sierra, I. and Fisher, A. (1999). Caracterización de la calidad de la canal de los
INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A KEY CONCEPT IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURTIY
145