“There are currently 35 participants from 7 marzes of Armenia. The registration stage ended on April 1, and the second stage, during which schools must submit their projects, is underway,” SIFI representative Ani Kazaryan said.
“The idea is to teach schoolchildren how to grow an environmentally friendly and abundant harvest without using pesticides,” explains Satenik Mkrtchyan, the head of the School Feeding and Child Welfare Agency. “This competition will help teach children the idea of innovative agriculture. We will also show how to achieve goals through teamwork. Witnessing the principle “from garden to plate” with their own eyes, from soil loosening and seed sprouting to a healthy dish on the table, the children go through these stages together.”
“One school invented an interesting exercise game we are going to publish. They used the length and width of beds and rows to study mathematics. We will try to make such an interesting approach accessible to other children,” she said.
“The best school mini garden will be selected by August 1,” Ani Kazaryan says. “The winning school will receive USD 3000 to improve the garden, for example, to install an irrigation system. The amount can also be used to purchase equipment for the school canteen as part of the school meals programme.