Strengthening agricultural VET in Armenia

Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia (MAVETA), which runs until 2030, combines classroom learning with on-farm or company-based training. 
 
At the HAFL colloquium last week, Johannes, who coordinates HAFL’s contribution with colleagues Stefan Dubach, Sven Nägeli and Astrid Schmid, spoke of the successes and challenges in supporting a dual-track vocational education and training system across Armenia’s agricultural sector. 
 
Over the past three years (and even further back to the project’s pre-origins before 2022), stakeholders have made solid progress in modernising systems and co-creating knowledge.

In phase one, MAVETA has:

• worked with multiple agricultural colleges (in Syunik, Lori, Tavush, Armavir, and Yerevan) to modernise curricula to meet labour-market needs for professions such as dairy technologist, veterinarian, orchardist, farmer, and agricultural machinist;
• enabled 671 students (76% men, 24% women) to enrol in dual A-VET programmes across six colleges, as of September 2025;
• systematically developed teaching and learning materials, drawing on Swiss resources and adapted to the Armenian context;
• organised one-week study visits and practical training in Switzerland, exposing guests to Swiss farming practices, vocational training methods and hands-on operations with training companies. In 2022 we hosted college directors, farmers and cheesemakers, in 2023 fruit and nut farmers, and in 2025 farming, veterinarian and agricultural-machinery instructors;
• up-skilled 132 teachers (100 women) in activity- and practice-oriented teaching competencies;
• conducted practical training and workshops for 300+ participants, covering animal husbandry, improved feeding practices, milk processing, cheese production, fodder and pasture management, cultivation of clover-grass mixtures, beef meat production, minimum tillage and conservation agriculture, potato cultivation, silage, and innovative orchard techniques.

Sharing seeds

“One well-received exercise was the establishment of variety gardens with different wheat and potato seeds and different clover-grass mixtures from Switzerland,” said Johannes.

“Through these demonstration plots, connected places of learning – between colleges and farms – were established, and students could carry out practical exercises developed by the teachers.

“This was really interesting for the colleges that don’t have land, to be able to compare different varieties and mixtures, and to contribute by innovatively evaluating these plots for farmers.” 

As MAVETA continues into its second three-year phase, BFH-HAFL remains committed to supporting dual-track education systems, strengthening collaborations between schools and businesses, and preparing a new generation of agricultural professionals ready for the labour market in Armenia.

Further efforts are needed to secure sufficient training positions within companies, improve the quality of training at companies and conduct standardised practical examinations.

About MAVETA

The MAVETA project, which is a project of the HAFL Hugo P. Cecchini Institute, aims to improve the knowledge and skills of professionals and students in agriculture and related fields. It supports the development of the legal and institutional framework for dual-track VET, and combines hands-on training with lessons in the vocational school. 

The MAVETA project is funded by a broad coalition of international and local organisations, led by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), including the Austrian Development Agency, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Government of Armenia, the Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER) NGO, Izmirlian Foundation, the Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO and Vanand Agro CJSC. The project’s implementing partners are GIZ and HEKS/EPER, with the involvement of SDA and BFH-HAFL.