12/2017
#
64 Geo r g i a Agriculture Bulletin Kakheti anti-hail system saves GEL 25 million in crops Georgian dairy industry on the upswing Agricultural land is 40% of all available land in Georgia Georgian nut exports down USD 80 million
All materials are published “as is� and are the property of their respective owners.
Contents State Initiatives ........................................................................................................... 2 1) 2) 3) 4)
Strategy against stink bug for 2018 drafted .................................................................................... 2 Kakheti anti-hail system saves GEL 25 million in crops ................................................................... 2 2015-2020 agricultural strategy 74.9% fulfilled .............................................................................. 2 Study on state policies supporting farmer cooperatives ................................................................ 2
Foreign Aid ................................................................................................................. 3 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)
Study shows farmers unaware of animal-to-human diseases ........................................................ 3 Income of agricultural cooperatives up 27%, profit up 30% ........................................................... 3 EU and Georgia review 4 years of ENPARD implementation .......................................................... 3 Georgian dairy industry on the upswing ......................................................................................... 4 New online feature enables local food price monitoring ................................................................ 4
Private Sector.............................................................................................................. 5 10) 11) 12) 13)
Agricultural land is 40% of all available land in Georgia.................................................................. 5 New laurel processing factory opens in Imereti .............................................................................. 5 Georgian nut exports down USD 80 million .................................................................................... 5 Agriculture shows third quarter decline.......................................................................................... 5
Note: The Georgia Agriculture Bulletin presents a monthly roundup of headlines and news stories related to Georgia’s agricultural sector. This bulletin is prepared by Business & Finance Consulting—a Swiss-based development finance consulting company with a long history of working in Georgia. Read more »
BFC Max-Högger-Strasse 6 CH-8048 Zurich, Switzerland
Phone: +41 44 784 22 22 Fax: +41 44 784 23 23
info@bfconsulting.com www.bfconsulting.com
BFC Agriculture Bulletin
State Initiatives 1)
Strategy against stink bug for 2018 drafted
December 5th, 2017, http://www.sarke.com/cgi/search/news.asp?Code=10052637
The Ministry of Agriculture has reported that it has completed the draft of their strategy for the fight against the brown marmorated stink bug in 2018. The strategy is based on experience collected from the actions carried out against this pest in 2017. Specifically, the strategy consists of three main directions: an active informational campaign, full-scale monitoring and actions to be taken against the pest such as chemical spraying.
2)
Kakheti anti-hail system saves GEL 25 million in crops
December 12th, 2017, http://agenda.ge/news/92279/eng
Crops worth more than GEL 25 million have been saved in Georgia’s top wine-making region of Kakheti this year thanks to a government-launched anti-hail system. It is estimated that the anti-hail system was 96.3% effective this year. The anti-hail system works by launching an unguided 60mm rocket into the air that disperses a reagent into the air to reduce hail from forming in the clouds. The rocket has the capacity to carry 50-70 grams of silver iodide reagent.
3)
2015-2020 agricultural strategy 74.9% fulfilled
December 18th, 2017, http://www.sarke.com/cgi/search/news.asp?Code=10052737
The ‘Reformeter’ project of the Policy Institute of International School of Economy at Tbilisi State University (ISET Policy Institute) has estimated that 74.9% of the agricultural strategy for 2015-2020 has already been fulfilled, with 5% of it being fulfilled in the last six months. The remaining efforts needing to be fulfilled include improving: the organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture; the number of registered of farms; the system of seed and sapling stock certification; the system of land usage; and the regulations for the harmonization of Georgian legislation with that of the European Union (EU). Additionally, efforts need to be made to grow foreign direct investments (FDI) in agriculture to be above 1% of total FDI. The development of the land market also needs improved as the average area of traded sites does not exceed 1 hectare. Previous efforts under the strategy have been heavily concentrated on agricultural processing, which adds value to products and increases the available capital in the country. The project estimates the level of fulfillment of the long-term strategy on a semiannual basis.
4)
Study on state policies supporting farmer cooperatives
December 18th, 2017, http://www.economists.ge/en/news/223-presentation-of-evaluation
The Association of Young Economists of Georgia (AYEG) partnered with the relief and development organization People in Need (PIN) to evaluate, from the point of view of farmers, state policies aimed at supporting cooperatives in the Imereti and Racha regions. The study was conducted with the support of the European Union (EU), through the European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD), and PIN’s ‘Enhancing Small Farmer Cooperation and Productivity in the Imereti and Racha Regions’ project. Research findings covered issues such as the present state of the development of cooperatives, farmer attitudes towards cooperatives, existing needs and the assessment of the impact of the Agricultural Cooperatives Development Agency and its projects. Page 2
BFC Agriculture Bulletin
Foreign Aid 5)
Study shows farmers unaware of animal-to-human diseases
December 7th, 2017, http://www.sarke.com/cgi/search/news.asp?Code=10052660
According to research conducted in August-September by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Caucasian Research Resource Center (CRRC), Georgian farmers’ unawareness of diseases transferred from animals to humans is one of the key problems in Georgia. This, in turn, is directly connected with issues of food safety in the country. The research also found that: 57% of farmers use special ear signs that require cattle to be subjected to veterinary supervision; TV programs are the major source of information for decision-making (followed by friends, neighbors and the internet); 24% of respondents under the age of 35 use the internet almost daily; and 94% of respondents do not listen radio at all, while 84% do not read newspapers and magazines. The research was conducted with financial support of the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADC).
6)
Income of agricultural cooperatives up 27%, profit up 30%
December 8th, 2017, http://www.sarke.com/cgi/search/news.asp?Code=10052671
The Policy Institute of International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET Policy Institute) has concluded that research shows that the growth of farmers’ incomes that participate in European Union (EU)-supported cooperatives has grown by 27% and that their profit has grown by 30%. Production value per cooperative has increased by 37% on average since 2014. Moreover, employment appears to have doubled in this timeframe, although the research indicated that it was still too early to assess the full impact of EU efforts on employment. The research was conducted over four years and was supported by the European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). According to ENPARD, about 1,500 cooperatives have been registered in Georgia with assistance of the EU, uniting 15,000 farmers.
7)
EU and Georgia review 4 years of ENPARD implementation
December 13th, 2017, http://enpard.ge/en/european-union-government-georgia-review-four-years-eu-support-agriculture/
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Agriculture Minister Levan Davitashvili and European Union (EU) Ambassador to Georgia summarized the results of the first phase of the EU’s European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) in Georgia at the ‘Improving Rural Lives’ conference. The first phase of ENPARD was active in Georgia from 2014 to 2017 and had a budget of EUR 52 million. It directly benefitted an estimated 250,000 rural Georgians. The program was based on three key pillars: (1) supporting the modernization and professionalization of the Ministry of Agriculture and related institutions; (2) promoting and developing the cooperative model of farming in Georgia; and (3) promoting employment opportunities beyond agriculture in rural areas through rural development approaches. In all three pillars, the EU provided training, funding and professional assistance. Today, around 1,500 cooperatives are registered in Georgia, uniting up to 15,000 farmers. Of these, more than 280 cooperatives received direct EU funding and technical assistance worth over GEL 13 million.
Page 3
BFC Agriculture Bulletin
The EU also used the event to announce a further EUR 77.5 million for the next phase of ENPARD, which will run from 2018-2021. This phase will focus on enhancing the competitiveness of agriculture by: (1) supporting the Ministry of Agriculture in the implementation of agricultural policy; (2) providing farmers with improved access to finance, training and education; (3) developing value chains for farmers’ commodities; and (4) improving food safety, quality standards and the procedures for inspection and control. Additionally, this phase will work to help authorities implement rural development policies designed to improve employment and living conditions in rural areas, including the improvement of the environment, of the management of natural resources and of climate change actions.
8)
Georgian dairy industry on the upswing
December 15th, 2017, http://www.fao.org/georgia/news/detail-events/en/c/1073027/
For the last several years, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have been supporting Georgia’s dairy farmers in modernizing facilities and boosting milk productivity and quality via trainings, study tours, informational portals and knowledge exchanges on the latest dairy trends, technologies and food safety standards. This has all led to increased investments and a marked upswing for the sector as a whole. Even so, there is still work to be done, especially in regards to delivering the technical know-how necessary to produce safe and high quality milk. An EBRD/FAO study found that, by making simple improvements, Georgian commercial dairy farmers could increase productivity by up to 35%. Moreover, most of these changes do not require major investments, and many farmers have already begun upgrading their facilities and buying new livestock breeds and technology to increase productivity and profits. The EBRD and FAO also launched a modular training program in 2016 to introduce dairy farmers across the country to new production methods. In order to ensure that the sector continues to grow, EBRD and FAO support efforts to continue to strengthen the capacity of the country’s Association of Professional Milk Producers, which has set up a consultancy center where trained specialists can provide members with professional advice and where opportunities for buying inputs and processing milk can be explored. EBRD and FAO also support the emergence of origin-based labels for Georgia’s famous traditional cheeses, with a view to creating extra value in specific market niches. Finally, there is an upcoming EBRD and FAO project to strengthen policy and business strategy in the Georgian dairy sector by facilitating constructive dialogue between private dairy sector representatives and the government while also providing support to local stakeholders in the form of trainings and knowledge sharing.
9)
New online feature enables local food price monitoring
December 20th, 2017, http://enpard.ge/en/fao-enpard-developed-software-monitor-local-food-market-prices/
A new data source located at the online portal www.farmer.gov.ge has been developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the support of the European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. The data will allow Georgians to monitor local prices for up to one hundred agricultural and food products in markets throughout the country. Up-to-date statistics on local food prices will help rural families and farmer associations ensure that their production is in line with market trends. It will also supply small farms, which often have few resources and little growth potential, with access to valuable information that could lead to new economic opportunities. This is just one part of a comprehensive FAO-ENPARD project to provide the Ministry of Agriculture with technical assistance that will boost its ability to develop and implement smart rural development policies. Page 4
BFC Agriculture Bulletin
Private Sector 10) Agricultural land is 40% of all available land in Georgia December 1st, 2017, http://www.sarke.com/cgi/search/news.asp?Code=10052606
Georgia’s land reserves are 7.63 million hectares (including the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions as well as territorial waters), 948,900 hectares (12.4%) of which are private property. Agricultural land covers 3.02 million hectares, 1.77 million hectares (25.4%) of which are private property. Nonagricultural land covers 4.6 million hectares (60%), 181,600 hectares (up to 4%) of which are private property.
11) New laurel processing factory opens in Imereti December 4th, 2017, http://georgiatoday.ge/news/8417/Laurel-Processing-Factory-Opens-in-West-Georgia
A new laurel processing factory, Georgian Laurel LTD, has started operations in Vani (Imereti region). The factory was built within the framework of the state’s United Agro Project and with financial support from the ‘Agricultural Production Processing and Co-financing Project of New Enterprises’ project. In total, USD 597,482 was invested to set up the factory, USD 239,000 of which came in the form of cofinancing from the state. The new factory is capable of producing 236 tons of laurel leaf per year and employs 53 people. The company uses only Georgian raw materials.
12) Georgian nut exports down USD 80 million December 15th, 2017, http://www.commersant.ge/?view=post&id=136141&lang_id=en
In 2017, the export of nuts from Georgia fell by about USD 80 million. This is the only export commodity which has demonstrated a decrease, with all others showing significant growth. One of the main reasons for the decrease in the export of nuts was the invasion of pests that destroyed a significant portion of the harvest as well as unfavorable climatic conditions that both caused producers to fail to meet required timeframes and further reduced the harvest.
13) Agriculture shows third quarter decline December 19th, 2017, http://www.bm.ge/en/business-inner/soflis-meurneobis-dargi-mcirdeba/67/
In the third quarter of 2017, agriculture decreased by 2.8% year-on-year after showing a growth of 2.9% in the third quarter of last year. The third quarter also saw a decrease of 3.6% in household production (7% growth last year) as well as a 4.3% decline in the production of goods for own use (6.4% decline last year). Agriculture and fisheries constituted an 8.6% share of gross domestic product (GDP).
Page 5
Prepared by Business & Finance Consulting (BFC) www.bfconsulting.com Articles are taken directly from local sources without any fact-checking; they are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Business & Finance Consulting (BFC)’s editing is limited to providing a short summary in English of the texts, highlighting the main points of the original articles. All rights reserved by the authors. BFC takes no responsibility and does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, or assume any responsibility whatsoever for the content, accuracy, and reliability, or completeness of any of the articles.