Gov’t spends millions planting nurseries, promoting orchards

The Government of Georgia is taking tangible steps to promote and support the agriculture industry particularly long-term projects that will ensure healthy, high-quality products for domestic and foreign markets. 

Today the Ministry of Agriculture announced 430 hectares of land will be developed into orchards in Georgia’s central Shida Kartli region. This area will also include villages located near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) separating the country from Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, one of its two occupied regions.

In total 84 farmers have gained partial funding from the state to develop their land as an orchard within the Plant Future project, initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture Project Management Agency. 

In the Shida Kartli municipalities of Gori, Kareli, Kaspi and Khashuri apple, plum, peach, sweet cherry and almond trees will be planted on the 430 hectare area. 

In 2016 the project will spend about $2.1 million USD on developing orchards. Photo by Ministry of Agriculture. 

The Ministry also announced within the project, which launched last year, 16 farmers living near the ABL had already planted trees to develop orchards on 74 hectares of land. 

• $1.2 million USD was allocated for the new 84 beneficiaries. 
• The Plant Future project launched in 2015 and aimed to support the agriculture industry, promote reasonable use of lands and support good harvest in all regions of Georgia; 
• In 2016 the project will spend about $2.1 million USD on developing orchards that occupy 1,000-1,200 hectares, and creation of 30-40 nurseries in Georgia’s regions. 
• These steps intended to allow Georgia to grow its own produce and replace imported products with locally produced ones. The Georgia-grown produce could also be exported; 
• Within the project farmers are eligible for state funding for their orchards or nurseries. The project will cover 70 percent of the cost of young plants for an orchard and 50 percent of irrigation system expenses. For those wanting to start a nursery, the project will finance 50 percent of total expenses; 
• In Georgia 1,292 hectares of land required cultivation, and to do this more than $3 million USD was needed.