The SOAA partnership was successfully finalised in May 2025. Over the most recent reporting period, the SOAA partnership advanced organic agriculture education and practice in Armenia through curriculum reform, hands-on farm development, faculty upskilling, and broad public outreach. At the heart of the work, ANAU’s Organic Agriculture Master’s Programme (OAMP) was streamlined to 1.5 years, syllabi were revised, and structured practical work and exchange visits were embedded, changes now formally adopted and already in use by instructors and students. This optimization has made the programme more attractive and has boosted recruitment.
Field-based learning intensified at Akunk Student Research Farm. Raised-bed cultivation was established; greenhouse production launched; nursery specialists trained staff and students on decorative seedling production; organic herb and vegetable seeds sourced in Vienna were raised to seedlings and transplanted with OAMP cohorts; orchards were professionally pruned; and a draft Masterplan plus strategic plans were prepared to guide the farm’s next phase. All OA master’s students conducted thesis experiments at Akunk, reinforcing the farm’s role as a living laboratory for applied agroecology.
To extend learning beyond the degree, the team designed and ran the short-term hybrid course ‘Organic Agriculture: From Introduction to Practical Application’ (April 7–30, 2025), delivering 11 theoretical modules to 95 participants (online and offline) and 2 field visits; a companion handbook was produced for ongoing use. A project management guide was also created to standardize workflows across ANAU.
Faculty and sector capacity grew through multiple channels. Six study visits and fourteen Erasmus mobilities equipped ANAU teachers and staff with new methods for on-farm training and classroom delivery; BOKU professors Maria Wurzinger and Alexandra Strauss-Sieberth led online trainings on project writing and effective teaching; and FiBL courses deepened knowledge in organic/agroecological systems altogether engaging 31 OAMP lecturers, master’s students, ANAU and SOAA staff across two FiBL courses.
Public visibility and stakeholder engagement accelerated. The SOAA Facebook page reached 435 followers with active engagement; “Organic Armenia” NGO amplified OAMP through its page and group; and short promotional videos were widely shared. These efforts supported a measurable uptick in applications. Media activities also included national TV coverage of the farm’s organic honey harvest and community events on insect hotels and value-added products bringing producers, students, and partners together and promoting organic agriculture as a viable pathway for Armenia’s food system.
Institutionally, the ANAU–BOKU relationship advanced toward formalization, with Erasmus grants enabling additional staff and student exchanges and strengthening the pipeline for joint research, mobility, and curriculum development. The partnership featured high-level visits and collaborative planning that will anchor multi-sector cooperation going forward.
Overall, the project has: (1) modernized and activated a practice-oriented master’s programme; (2) stood up a functioning student research farm with a roadmap for growth; (3) expanded short-course offerings and open resources; (4) built durable teaching and management capacity; and (5) grown a public audience for organic agriculture. These achievements translate into long-term benefits: stronger academic quality and consistency, improved student employability, deeper university–industry links, and greater resilience of Armenia’s food systems through the wider adoption of organic practices.
