Improving food security and nutrition through cash+ in Armenia

Combining cash transfers, productive assets and inputs distribution with agricultural and nutrition trainings for vulnerable rural households in Lori and Shirak region

Armenia is an upper-middle-income country in the South Caucasus with a population of three million people. It is landlocked and a net importer of food. The country is vulnerable to natural hazards, including floods and drought, and external shocks, namely global food price fluctuations, which often have negative impacts on food security and nutrition. In 2015, 16 percent of households in Armenia were food insecure and 9.4 percent of children under 5 years of age were stunted. Evidence shows that integrated approaches involving agricultural and livelihood interventions can enhance the impacts of cash transfers. Meanwhile, improvements in nutrition require a nutrition-sensitive approach to complement the provision of cash. To this end, FAO’s cash+ approach combines the delivery of cash transfers with productive inputs, assets and/or technical training, aimed at supporting beneficiaries to address immediate needs while also engaging in productive activities. FAO has been supporting the Government of Armenia to find effective pathways out of poverty and food insecurity for rural households. This promising practice factsheet documents an integrated nutrition-sensitive cash+ approach piloted for the first time in the country in the Gyulagarak community in the Lori region, and in the Marmashen community in the Shirak region. FAO complemented the cash assistance of the government-led family benefits scheme with agricultural inputs, including cattle, poultry and home gardening supplies, and training on nutrition, household budgeting, and financial literacy.