IN ARMENIA

To enhance the nutritional value of school meals by incorporating fresh vegetables and greens, we installed three types of greenhouses in three pilot schools in Ararat marz.

International project in collaboration with FAO

Three greenhouses

in three schools of Ararat

These greenhouse projects have helped enrich students’ diets, expand educational opportunities, and upgrade school infrastructure. In addition to supplying fresh vegetables and herbs, they promoted sustainable agriculture skills and ecological awareness among students.

At Vedi Secondary School No. 1, we set up a compact greenhouse that helps significantly improve the quality of school meals. This greenhouse covers the school’s needs for fresh vegetables and herbs, providing students with essential vitamins and minerals often lacking in standard dishes.

Thanks to the greenhouse, children enjoy fresh produce, contributing to their health and academic performance. Additionally, the greenhouse serves as an educational resource where students gain hands-on experience in sustainable farming and eco-friendly production.

At Verin Artashat Secondary School, we set up a medium-sized greenhouse that not onlyfully covers the school’s needs for fresh produce but also enables the cultivation and sale of surplus crops to fund school infrastructure improvements. This greenhouse enhances students’ nutrition while contributing to the expansion of the School Feeding Programme.

At Surenavan Secondary School, the largest greenhouse was installed, transforming it into a center for fresh produce. The greenhouse fully meets the school’s own needs for fresh vegetables and herbs while also supplying nearby schools. The surplus is sold, providing the school with an additional source of income.

After gaining independence, Armenia began restoring its school feeding system only in 2010 through the implementation of the UN WFP’s Development of School Feeding in Armenia project.

By the time action-oriented proposals were developed, Armenia had reached a transitional milestone in school feeding. In addition to the WFP program, a National School Feeding Programme was launched in 2014.

Since 2010, the Russian Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI) has been actively involved in expanding Armenia's School Feeding Programme. Our work spans from developing conceptual and strategic papers to hands-on, practical projects.

Renovating

We focus on rebuilding school canteen infrastructure, upgrading kitchen equipment, and training cooks and school administrators on providing safe, nutritious, and tasty meals to students.

Why Greenhouses?

Direct communication with headmasters enabled us to better understand the individual needs of their schools, therefore strengthening the School Feeding Programme's sustainability.

The headmsters frequently pointed out the problems, ranging from adapting to new equipment to a lack of finances for canteen renovations and incorporating fresh vegetables into school meals. Despite these challenges, they had a common goal: to feed children, providing them with healthy and appealing lunches.

of school meals

To improve the quality of school meals, the headmasters expressed readiness to cultivate vegetables and herbs on school plots to provide children with fresh salads. They merely needed assistance to achieve their goal.

This is how the idea of ​​a pilot project was born: the construction of greenhouses with modern heating, ventilation and drip irrigation systems in three schools in Armenia.

Considering Armenia's changeable weather, particularly during the chilly autumn and winter seasons when children need additional vitamins, we proposed a pilot project to build greenhouses with modern heating, ventilation, and drip irrigation systems in three Armenian schools.

Testing New Approaches

We built a small greenhouse covering 198 square meters at Vedi High School No.1, with the goal of providing the school with fresh vegetables and herbs to feed the children.

Before constructing a second greenhouse, we investigated the possibility for the school to sell extra vegetables to employees or at local markets and use the proceeds to further improve school meals.

This prompted the idea to create a bigger greenhouse.

It was decided to install a 384-square-meter greenhouse on the premises of Verin Artashat school, thus enabling the school to cultivate fresh vegetables, sell the surplus at the local market and use the proceeds for further improvements to school feeding.

What about schools lacking the space for a greenhouse? Should children there miss out on fresh, healthy salads? Absolutely not. Neighboring schools with more space can step in to help.

In Surenavan, we built the largest greenhouse on 528 square meters. It supplies fresh vegetables and herbs not only to its students but also to neighboring schools.

Construction of greenhouses is just the beginning. The next steps involve addressing critical issues: Does the school have the legal right to sell produce? How can schools secure additional funding for improving meals? What are the best practices for cultivating crops and preparing nutritious meals beyond simple salads?

sustainability

To get answers, we conducted thorough research into Armenia’s legal and regulatory framework and developed detailed guidelines, including:

Training

Thanks to local partners from the Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development (CARD), we organized training sessions for school headmasters and staff involved in operating the greenhouses.

Led by agronomists specializing in greenhouse vegetable production, these sessions covered essential topics such as soil preparation, fertilization, irrigation techniques, and creating optimal greenhouse climates for high yields.

The advanced technologies used in greenhouse vegetable cultivation will be extended to local farmers and rural communities, helping to significantly increase crop yields by transitioning to innovative agricultural practices.

To achieve this, we developed a comprehensive programme that includes a methodological guide for primary school teachers and a workbook for students. These resources explain how vegetables grow and how to care for them. Interactive tasks, experiments, and hands-on exercises are designed to teach children about healthy eating, hygiene habits, and sustainable living.

Educating

We couldn’t overlook the opportunity to use the greenhouses for educational purposes. It is during early school years that children start discovering their interests and thinking about future career paths. One of our goals was to spark their interest in agriculture and teach them practical greenhouse skills.