Armenia's Ag Minister Visits Fowler Packing
* Minister Tavit Lokian is awed by the efficiencies of modern agricultural technologies by Paul Chaderjian Asbarez (Fowler, California) -- Under the bright and warm September San Joaquin sun, a high-ranking official from the Republic of Armenia examines the color of crimson grapes as migrant farm workers pack plastic containers for Wal-Mart and Costco. Leading him on a tour through endless rows of vineyards are the sons of once-migrant Armenians from the old country, men whose grandfathers and fathers labored relentlessly on these lands for nearly a century, making California's Central Valley the most bountiful farmland in the world and their packing houses the most successful in North America. Chemist, biologist, urban planner, athlete, the representative of his people and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation party in Parliament and now appointed Minister of Agriculture, Tavit Lokian, inspects the table grapes, tastes the fruit and comments on the sweetness of it. Dressed i...