Austrian Development Agency offers €4 mln for organic farming development in Georgia
One of the initiatives that is planned for developing organic farming in Georgia is to liberalise the tax regime. Photo: N. Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Tweet 
Share
The Austrian Development Agency has allocated about €4 million to help Georgia develop organic farming.
One of the initiatives that is planned for developing organic farming in Georgia is to liberalise the tax regime.
First Deputy Agriculture Minister Nodar Kereselidze said that organic farming is an important component of the green economy that the Georgian government has been developing in the country.
We have truly unique opportunities to develop organic farming in many directions. We can benefit from the trade agreements that we have with the EU, China and other countries and find high value markets for organic products. We have already completed negotiations with the EU and the Austrian Development Agency, which help us financially”, Kereselidze said.
EU-funded projects with a budget of 22 million euros (60 million GEL) implemented by the UNDP and the FAO will provide direct assistance to rural communities and support the governments of Georgia and the Adjara Autonomous Republic in sustainable agriculture and rural development policy.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is helping Georgia combat the country’s stink bug infestation problem by handing over 17 tractors to the Georgian National Food Agency in Abasha, in Georgia’s Samegrelo region.
The export of Georgian agricultural products to the EU countries is on the rise, says the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia. In the first quarter of 2018, Georgia exported agricultural goods worth $37.8 million.
Almost 22 percent of Georgia’s population is under the absolute poverty line, shows the latest data of 2017 poverty indicators published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).
Georgia is launching a programme to support organic farming in the country in 2019. The initiative is part of the country’s Green Policy.