Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information and the Tax Payers’ Union have organized a round table on May 8 over: "Role of the state enterprises in the development of agriculture”. Meeting participants have presented the review analysis of state enterprises operating in the field of agriculture, followed upon by the discussion. The event was organized as part of the "Public Policy, Advocacy and the Civil Society Development in Georgia” program (G-PAC) of the East-West Management Institute. For the full text (geo) Source: the organization's web page in the social network.

Tbilisi. The founding assembly of the "Georgian Rural Parliament” was held on May 7. Prior to electing the Chair of the Georgian Rural Parliament, four candidates from the Kvareli, Khashuri, Lanchkhuti and Senaki Municipalities have presented their visions. As a result of secret ballot Nino Mshvidobadze from the Lanchkhuti Municipality was elected as the Chair of the Rural Parliament. Over 100 delegates from various municipalities have attended the event. The assembly was organized by the international association Civitas Georgica, Czech CSO Agora CE and the Public Research Center. Source: civitas.ge

Adjara. The Civil Society Institute and the local Public Assemblies of Keda, Khelvachauri and Kobuleti have jointly organized public meetings on March 12-14, aimed at discussing and evaluating the priorities of the Rural Aid Program.During the meetings part of the population has identified problems that should be taken into consideration when the next year's priorities are determined.

Kakheti. Representatives of organization "Elkana" have met in the conference hall of the Akhmeta Municipality Gamgeoba with persons interested in setting up farming cooperatives.Meeting participants have discussed novelties planned as part of the project "Supporting the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Georgia".According to the organizers of the meeting, the project is funded by the EU and its key objective is to support the productiveness of business-oriented small farmers' groups/cooperatives, improvement of quality of the goods and access to national/export markets.

Tbilisi. Eurasia Partnership Foundation and its partner civil society organizations express their concern about the slow pace of reforms in the food safety field.They appeal to the Georgian authorities to accelerate the reform process in order to improve, the protection of consumer rights. Statement (geo) Source: epfound.ge

Adjara. The Civil Society Institute and the Keda Public Assembly have organized a public meeting on March 12, attended by the representatives of local authorities, members of the Assembly and interested population. Meeting participants have discussed the priorities of the Rural Aid Program and results of interviews of the local population on the urgent and key issues for the rural development. The meeting transformed into discussion where the audience has expressed its comments and recommendations.

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia released a blog post - "Microfinance to farmers threatened by agricultural land ban". "A recent change in the law, initiated by the Ministry of Economy, is anti-competitive, discriminates against microfinance lenders ("MFIs”) with foreign shareholders – and makes it substantially more difficult for Georgian farmers to have access to foreign credit for agricultural loans", says they blog post. For the full text  Source:transparency.ge

Mtskheta-Mtianeti. A signing ceremony was organized on March 11 between the EU and four CSOs, which will receive funding as part of the ENPARD Program to support the small farming cooperatives. The EU will allocate 15 million Euros for setting up and enhancing the cooperatives. Within the program, up to 160 small farming cooperatives will be set up in Georgia. To this end, the agreement was executed in Tsinamdzghvriantkari between the EU and the consortium of four organizations– Oxfam, Mercy Corps, Care and People in Need.

Samtskhe-Javakheti. On March 10, in CCE of Akhaltsikhe, a presentation of Georgia’s agricultural development project was held by USAID. Five-year-long project had a budget of 19 million dollars and aims at the development of agribusinesses, employment possibilities etc. The presentation was attended by the representatives of the organization which work on agriculture. The presentation was followed by question-answer format.

Kakheti. The representatives of the of ‘Merry Corps” met in Sagarejo members of municipalities, farmers and the representatives of the NGO sector. The topic of the meeting was about the problems of cooperatives. The organizers provided information about cooperatives to the local governors.The meeting lasted on question-answer base.

Tbilisi. Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) held a presentation of a report on - Monitoring and Efficiency Analysis of State Rural Aid Programs. The project is being implemented with the financial support of Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF). Within the project, economic analysis of the rural aid program (village support program) and the fund for the regional projects of Georgia was conducted. The Report  Source:www.eprc.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Economists' Association echoes the resolution on the "Rural Aid Program" approved by the Government of Georgia on February 20.The organization welcomes novelties that the Program includes and believes that "changes will increase the efficiency of the "Rural Aid Program" ... For years our organization works together with partners on enhancing the efficiency of this Program. There are numerous problems throughout the Program implementation." In its statement the organization discusses problems in detail and expresses readiness "to actively cooperate with the Ministry and all interested organizations in order to improve the Program and increase the efficiency of the Program to the maximum extent." Source: the organization's web page in the social network.

Tbilisi. In June 2013, the Parliament passed a temporary legal ban restricting non-Georgian citizens (including Georgian entities with a foreign minority shareholders – "foreigners”) from purchasing or inheriting agricultural land until December 2014— this ban has now been amended.TI Georgia challenged this ban in September 2013 for being vaguely worded, discriminatory, unconstitutional – and likely to have a negative effect on the development of the agricultural sector. TI Georgia’s case, Mathias Huter v Parliament of Georgia, was heard by the Constitutional Court in January 2014 and a judgment is currently awaited. "This temporary ban was justified by the government as necessary to give themselves time, "to develop a uniform state policy on agricultural land ownership and organize an integrated land cadastre by December 2013”, as stipulated in the then law. The government has missed this deadline and is now seeking to extend this deadline to 30th November 2014 in the new draft law". For the full text Source:transparency.ge

Kvemo Kartli. On February 13, NGO "CiDA” in the frames of "JOIN” project delivered the new office technique, computers, lap-tops to the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture Consultation Service, project target 6 Municipalities representatives. Akhalkalaki, Bolnisi, Gardabani, Dmanisi, Marneuli and Ninotsminda staff members received the computers that would easy them the communication process and assist them to improve their working process. For the full text Source:cida.ge

Tbilisi. Economic Policy Research Center’s (EPRC) new report ''Agricultural Strategy: International Experience and Lessons for Georgia'' reviews experience of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Albania in providing supporting measures in the field of agriculture. Based on the analysis of various countries’ experience the report presents lessons applicable for Georgia in the field of agriculture in general, as well as for the specific sub sectors (Wine and Wine Grape, Fresh Vegetables & Vegetable Processing, Fruits, Berries & Citrus and Livestock Dairy/ Beef). This is EPRC’s third report on agriculture policies. Previous studies, were Current State of Land Market in Georgia, Agriculture: Challenges and Current Policy. The report is part of EPRC’s project Innovative Approach to Agricultural Policy Making. The project aims to identify major challenges in the agriculture sector and to develop recommendations to overcome them, drawing upon the international experience. The project is implemented with the financial support of the East-West Management Institute’s (EWMI) program Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development in Georgia (G-PAC). Report – ‘'Agricultural Strategy: International Experience and Lessons for Georgia’’ Previous studies source: eprc.ge

Tbilisi. Economic Policy Research Center presented a new report Agriculture – Challenges and Current Policy. The report presents an overview of the Georgian agricultural sector and analyzes the ongoing and recently implemented agricultural programs initiated by the government. Agriculture - Challenges and Current Policy Source:the organization's page in the social network

Kakheti. Community organization "Leli" has held a meeting in Lagodekhi, village Leliani on the harm of the polyethylene sheets inflicted on agriculture and human health. Ways of problem solution were discussed at the meeting. The organization has carried out a special study on this issue. According to one of the founders of the community organization "Leli", GeleTedeev, up to 600 respondents were interviewed in Lagodekhi: "We received unfavorable picture after the interviews. We intend to print special brochures together with local self-government concerning the harm that the use of polyethylene inflicts on agriculture and a human health."

Kakheti. Representatives of NGO "Students International Initiative" have held a meeting in Sagarejo. The organization's representatives have informed the trustees of the Sagarejo Municipality's territorial body about the project "Youth for the Sustainable Agricultural and Environmental Development". The meeting aimed at promoting the sustainable development of fruit-growing in the agricultural sector through the development of relevant skills and knowledge among the youngsters, as well as at maintaining locally the youth living in the rural areas. The project is implemented with financial support of the "Children and Youth Development Fund".

Tbilisi. 3 July 2013 – Employment, growth, poverty reduction and food security make agriculture one of the most important sectors of economy in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – says UNDP research "Comparative Analysis of Agriculture in the South Caucasus”. Key findings of the study will be unveiled on 4 July 2013, at a specially convened conference. Source:cenn

Samegrelo. The strawberry festival was held in the Zugdidi Central Park. Visitors could buy the strawberry as well as deserts made of it. The festival was organized with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the New Economic Opportunities initiative (NEO). Head of the USAID mission Stephan Haykin has opened the strawberry festival. "This is one of the successful projects, which is a pilot project, but other farmers will also have an opportunity to implement similar projects. Most importantly, we can harvest strawberry several times during a year, and in addition, this project covers different fruits and vegetables," – the Mission Head has stated.

Tbilisi. EU launches a new program to support the agricultural sector. The Ambassador Philip Dimitrov and the State Minister of Georgia for Integration in the European and Euro-Atlantic Structures have signed the program funding agreement on March 12. The volume of the five-year project "European Neighborhood Program for Agricultural and Rural Development" (ENPARD) is 40 million EUROs."The program that became effective focuses on the key elements of political association: common values and overcoming of poverty; establishment of strong and contemporary institutes; and creation of new trade opportunities", Philip Dimitrov said."European Neighborhood Program for Agricultural and Rural Development. Source: eeas.europa.eu

Kakheti. A meeting with the local farmers was held in the Telavi State University, with assistance from the center for biological protection of plants "Bio-Agro".The meeting was also attended by the employees of the Agricultural Department of the Telavi Municipality, local farmers, bio-farmers, and NGO and media representatives.Experts have informed the audience about the development trends of production of ecologically clean agricultural goods in Georgia and Kakheti in particular.