Residents of Akhlatyan, a village of 600 in Armenia’s Syunik Province, have voiced their opposition to the low prices being offered for their milk by dumping the white liquid onto the streets.

Akhlatyan Mayor Armen Beglaryan opposes the protest action and has told villagers that nothing will change by dumping milk onto the streets and that it can even cause unsanitary conditions.

“I share their concerns. The main livelihood of the villagers is animal husbandry. But recently, the price of milk has drastically dropped and this has caused great financial losses for them,” says Mayor Beglaryan.

The mayor says that the village produces four tons of milk daily and that, until recently, it was all purchased by the Ashtarak Milk Company or the local milk wholesaler. The average price per liter had been 150 drams but dropped to 90-100 drams as of May. Payments for the milk have also been late. The mayor is concerned that due to the price drop some 30 cows have been slaughtered in the last month.

Hakob Hakobyan

Artsakh War vet Hakob Hakobyan cannot curb his anger and let’s fly with a stream of expletives addressed to no one in particular. He them composes himself. “I can’t sell my milk. Everyday I’m paying off this or that loan. What’s going on?”

Mayor Beglaryan confirms that almost every family in the village has a loan to pay off. He figures that the loans combined total several hundred million AMD and that many are past due.

“Because some banks are carrying unpaid loans they will not provide financing to others. Loans have become akin to wages for villagers. Every month, they try to take out a loan from her or there. If successful, they use the money to pay off previous loans. They cannot do so otherwise because they have no other revenue,” says the mayor.

Beglaryan says that not one dime in social assistance is planned to be allocated from the village budget.  He argues that the municipality collects only 75-80% of all revenues owed it.

Many land owners have long since emigrated and property taxes aren’t paid. Many residents are simply in no position to pay the taxes they owe.

Armen Beglaryan

And people continue to leave Akhtalyan. The doors of 25% of the 130 village homes are locked. In the first half of 2015, six families have packed up and emigrated.

A disgruntled Hakob chimes in: “Stay and do what? They sit in the center of Yerevan and decide our fate. It’s a market for powdered milk. It’s over. They are broadcasting ads on TV for powdered milk. Write this all down. Instead of helping the community by building a kindergarten or supplying us with drinking water, they are cutting our livelihoods.”

Village resident Volodya also joins the conversation.

“I an old man ready for the grave. My headstone is ready. I don’t want to be a burden to my kids. But if things continue like this they won’t have the money to bury me.”

Volodya says he doesn’t blame the mayor for the troubles of the village since everything is decided at the top.

Mayor Beglaryan believes the only hope for the village is some type of cooperative farming – where the fields are merged and the human and financial resources of residents are pooled.

Some residents, due to the drop in dairy prices, have slaughtered their herds and used the revenue to cultivate the land. Many have turned to planting walnut trees and new crop varieties. The mayor says that the Syunik Provincial Government offers free advice to those getting into farming.

Five members of the village council are farmers. Thus, the main topic of discussion at council meetings invariably centers on their operations. There is no talk about renovating the cultural center or, for example, building a kindergarten. There’s no money to do so even if they wanted to.