Cash+ Pilot Armenia (FAO Cash+)
FAO's Cash+ pilot in Armenia paired the government's existing 'Family Living Standards Enhancement Benefits' cash transfer with agricultural inputs (a pregnant heifer or poultry plus raspberry seedlings) and training on agriculture, nutrition and financial literacy for 133 poor rural households (802 people) in the Lori and Shirak regions. It ran from November 2018 to March 2020 as part of the broader FAO project 'Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia' (2016-2021). The pilot was funded by the Russian Federation and implemented with Armenia's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and Ministry of Health. It aimed to improve food security, dietary diversity and resilience for vulnerable households already enrolled in the national social protection scheme.
Cash+, Agricultural livelihoods, In-kind livestock assets, Nutrition-sensitive social protection, Rural Armenia, UN FAO pilot, Caucasus
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- City
- Rome
- State / Province
- Lazio
- Country
- Italy
Contact
- Phone
- +39 06 57051
- FAO-AM@fao.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 802
- Funding type
- Government, Nonprofit
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Payment frequency
- Lump Sum
- How long the program lasts
- 16 months
- Distribution Type
- In-kind agricultural assets (pregnant heifer with 12 months feed, or 30 chickens with a year of feed and 100 raspberry seedlings), plus training sessions, the complementary cash portion was distributed through the government's existing Family Living Standards Enhancement Benefits payment system, not administered by FAO
- Benefit details
Beneficiary households received one of two 'plus' packages depending on whether they owned a barn suitable for a cow: (1) one pregnant heifer plus feed for 12 months, or (2) 30 chickens with a year of feed and 100 raspberry seedlings. Packages were complemented by monthly veterinarian visits, agricultural extension training, and separate trainings on nutrition/hygiene (116 beneficiaries, 65% women) and financial literacy (109 beneficiaries, 72% women). The cash component came from the pre-existing government family benefits scheme, not a new FAO cash payment.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible households were drawn from the list of recipients of the Armenian government's proxy-means-tested 'Family Living Standards Enhancement Benefits' scheme within 11 target rural settlements in the Gyulagarak community (Lori region) and Marmashen community (Shirak region), two of Armenia's poorest and most food-insecure regions. The project prioritized households with two or more children under 18 (at least one aged 0-5), that were able and willing to work and participate in agricultural activities.
Family
- Family Status
- Parent
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 2
Financial
- Currently receiving government benefits
- Required
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Armenia
- Cities covered
- Gyulagarak, Marmashen
- Counties covered
- Lori, Shirak
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Government-run Family Living Standards Enhancement Benefits scheme (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs)
- Research / participation requirements
All participating households took part in periodic assessments with social workers and monthly veterinarian monitoring visits as part of the pilot. FAO also conducted a rapid phone-survey assessment (including during COVID-19) and commissioned an official endline evaluation and microsimulation study, published as 'Enhancing diets and resilience: Results from a rapid assessment and microsimulation study of a pilot project in a Cash+ pilot in Armenia' (Kangasniemi et al., 2024, FAO, https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8794en). Key findings: cash+ recipients showed significantly higher household dietary diversity scores than cash-only or non-recipient households (42.5% of cash+ recipients scored in the top quartile vs. 18.6% of cash-only and 33.7% of non-recipients); 27.9% of cash+ households reported increased children's animal-protein consumption vs. 10% (cash-only) and 6.3% (non-recipients); and cash+ households showed greater resilience to the 2019 drought and the COVID-19 shock, maintaining or growing livestock income.
Application Process
- How to apply
There was no public/open application process. FAO and Armenia's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs identified eligible households directly from the government's existing 'Npast' proxy-means-tested Family Living Standards Enhancement Benefits registry within the two target communities, then confirmed vulnerability and willingness to participate through local social workers.
- Selection process
Using household data from the government's 'Npast' family vulnerability assessment (proxy means testing) system, FAO and government counterparts identified beneficiaries already receiving the family benefits scheme within the 11 target settlements. Households were then prioritized based on having two or more children under 18 (one aged 0-5) and being able/willing to work. Barn ownership determined whether a household received the heifer package or the poultry-and-raspberry package. An interministerial technical working group (FAO, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and agency chiefs) oversaw project formulation and implementation.
