Business case on RECP assessment in "ERPIN" Agricultural Cooperative
"Erpin" is a dairy producer from the Yelpin community of Vayots Dzor. The company was founded in 2017 by the president of the agricultural cooperation, Mr. Artur Nazaryan, who also provided the land and infrastructure. In addition to being specialized in cheese production (11 types), the company also shows great potential for expanding production to other dairy products, such as yogurts, protein powder, and dry food for animals. The production process is based on locally available inputs (milk and fine herbs). The company’s main challenges are the excess waste (wastewater and solid residuals) from cheese production, which is disposed of in the precipitation basins without any treatment, as well as energy efficiency (as production is based on using gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and electricity from the grid). Motivated to minimize waste and high energy costs, the company participated in the RECP Demonstration Project under EU4Environment (2019-2024). This publication shows the company’s experience reported after the monitoring exercise conducted in 2022-2023.
The RECP assessment examined the production site and identified several RECP options, out of which the following three were prioritized by the company. These include medium investments:
RECP Option 1. Treating and reusing residuals from cheese production: This measure consists of redirecting the residuals from cheese production (whey and cheese leftovers) to producing dry food for animals and protein powder, instead of simply discharging them as waste into the precipitation basins. This would result in an increased turnover and would simultaneously reduce the generation of waste.
RECP Option 2. Purchasing an AAFBR-5 wastewater treatment plant: This measure would provide a multi-staged treatment of the wastewater. Currently, wastewater is directly discharged into the precipitation basin, where it is only mechanically treated through a process of sedimentation, and later released into the environment. The reprocessed water would be used to cover the irrigation needs of the company’s orchard.
RECP Option 3. Installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels: This would significantly reduce the company's dependence on gas and electricity from the grid (mostly used during the pasteurization and refrigeration processes), and enable it to become energy self-sufficient.
