US announces $200,000 grant competition in Georgian agriculture sector
Those interested must submit an application by July 26, 2019. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing a $200,000 grant competition for NGOs and entities operating in the agriculture sector of Georgia.
In order for Georgia to increase its competitiveness in new export markets, it needs to successfully adopt EU requirements. We are happy to announce that to help Georgia go through this process swiftly and effectively the US Department of Agriculture is providing up to $200,000 in grant assistance”, read the press release published by the US Embassy in Georgia.
Those interested must submit an application by July 26, 2019. The anticipated funding selection date is August 9, 2019 and the award date is August 23, 2019.
The project performance dates are September 1, 2019 – September 30, 2021.
While Georgia is gaining a more realistic view with time of the true costs vs benefits of adopting EU requirements, USDA recognises that Georgia is encountering operational problems with the process when they are expected to adopt specific EU requirements. This situation gives the US an opportunity to continue finding ways to guide Georgia in the process that is favourable to our trade interests and also voices our concerns about some of the EU’s non-scientific based SPS requirements”, read the programme description.
More about the grant competition can be found here.
Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) has provided a loan of €2 million to Georgia to support agricultural development, the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia reports.
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF) has provided a loan of 10 million USD to Georgia’s Basisbank for supporting energy efficiency lending to large and medium-sized companies in the agriculture and construction sectors. The synthetic GEL loan will enable BasisBank to on-lend to eligible Georgian businesses in local currency without bearing exchange rate risk upon repayment to GGF.
Farmers in Georgia will soon have better access to agricultural equipment thanks to a new programme that the government of Georgia is launching.
The US Department of Agriculture will allocate more than $10 million under the Food and Progress programme to improve food safety and quality in Georgia’s dairy and beef production chains.
Georgia and the US have signed a grant agreement earlier today through which Georgia will receive 330 million dollars via USAID over the course of five years to promote the country’s sustainable development, create jobs, strengthen accountable governance and Georgia’s democratic achievements.
Cooperation between Georgia and the United States in agriculture and environmental protection was discussed on Thursday in a meeting between the Otar Shamugia, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and Robin Dunnigan, the US Ambassador to the country.