Georgian PM tasks agriculture minister to solve issues in hazelnut sector
The stinkbug and fungal diseases have affected Georgia’s hazelnut export.Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has tasked Agriculture Minister Levan Davitashvili today with solving the country’s stink bug problem and issues with agricultural funguses; two of the major challenges facing the Georgian hazelnut sector.
Bakhtadze said that 2019 should be “distinguished” in the fight against the bug.
We had success regarding the fight against the pest last year. This year none of the farmers or families must be left without information about the methods of fighting against the stink bug and the government programme against the problem, Bakhtadze said.
Bakhtadze said that the programme will allow farmers to carry out agricultural activities against the bug and the fungal diseases to produce quality hazelnuts and avoid economic loss.
The figures are of the Georgian Statistics Agency-Geostat.
The government will purchase 2,000 modern spray machines and sprays against pests and hand them to the Georgian Hazelnut Production Association for the use. The association will also organise meetings with groups of farmers to inform them about the planned works and the government goals regarding the issue,” the government press office reported.
The government program also says that the farmers will receive SMS messages that will inform them about planned measures on a certain day.
Last year the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) offered $3.5 million to Georgia to help the country combat the stink bug infestation problem.
USAID gifted over 17 tractors to the Georgian National Food Agency in Abasha, in Georgia’s Samegrelo region in 2018 for the same reason.
The brown marmorated stink bug, which damages crops, is widespread in Georgia and a real nuisance to Georgian farmers.
The pest was first reported in Georgia in 2015.
In 2016, the bugs destroyed a significant portion of the hazelnut harvest in western Georgia. 2017 was even more devastating and struck a wider area.
Georgia will continue combating the stink bug infestation in 2019, announces the government of Georgia.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is helping Georgia combat the country’s stink bug infestation problem by offering $3.5 million.
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.
Traps will be installed in western Georgia to combat the stink bug infestation problem, announces the National Food Agency of Georgia.
Specialists from Australia and New Zealand have visited Georgia to learn from its successful experience in combating stink bugs.
Georgia is getting ready for a rich and high quality hazelnut harvest season during which thousands of tonnes of hazelnuts will be picked and sold locally or exported. This year more than 40,000 tonnes of hazelnut are expected to be harvested, while last year Georgian farmers picked just 17,000 tonnes of hazelnut.
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are joining forces to improve the quality and increase the production of hazelnuts, announces the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture.
“We have been fighting the stink bug for three years and this year we have finally successfully combatted it”, said Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze today in the western Georgian region of Samegrelo where together with other authorities and hazelnut sector representatives he summed up the state’s activities against the stink bug infestation.
Georgia’s capital Tbilisi is hosting a conference involving some of the world’s leading scientists for combating pests, with professionals from various fields discussing the country’s major results in dealing with a stink bug invasion over the last three years.
The candidate for environment protection and agriculture minister Levan Davitashvili said Georgia will have up to 40-45,000 tones of hazelnut harvest this year.
In January-November 2019 Georgia exported 10,879.4 tonnes worth $54.76 million of shelled and unshelled hazelnuts, which amounted to 1.6 per cent of total Georgian exports in this period, show data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia.
The Georgian experience in fighting the brown marmorated stink bug was praised at 'International Symposium on Limiting the Spread of Contaminating Pests 2020' in Sydney, Australia, says the National Food Agency earlier today.
A new hazelnut processing and storage facility has opened in the village of Tela, in Lagodekhi municipality of Georgia, which is operated by local company Agritrade, announces the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia.
About 50,000 tonnes of high quality hazelnuts are expected to be harvested in Georgia this year, announces the Ministry of Agriculture. Farmers in the Samegrelo region of Georgia have already started to gather the hazelnut harvest.
Georgia continues to combat the Brown marmorated stink bug in its western regions, where starting today settlement areas will be treated using thermal fog, announces the National Food Agency of Georgia.
Authorities in western Georgia’s Zugdidi Municipality are organising “active” efforts of thermal fogging against the brown marmorated stink bug, a source of major disruptions to farmers in recent years, the National Food Agency announced on Wednesday.