EU, FAO delegation visit Cattle Breeding Station in Georgia's southeast
A 400,000 GEL ($130,289/€119,810) deal was also signed between the Swiss Agricultural School Caucasus and the FAO to finance training equipment for cattle breeding, and dairy and cheese processing. Photo: video grab
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Representatives of the European Union and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation visited the Dmanisi Cattle Breeding Station in southeastern Georgia to observe the facility that received a grant of 462,000 GEL ($15,049/€13,848) to upgrade its machinery and equipment, EU in Georgia said on Friday.
The EU and FAO delegations also paid a visit to another investment in Dmanisi, the Swiss Agricultural School Caucasus, during which a 400,000 GEL ($130,289/€119,810) deal was also signed between the school and the FAO. The grant will finance training equipment for cattle breeding, and dairy and cheese processing for the first agricultural vocational educational school in Georgia set up with Swiss standards.
Sigrid Brettel, the Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the EU to Georgia, said dairy and beef production were “key subsectors” of the country’s agriculture, adding the EU hoped their investments, along with improved agricultural education, would “help increase the country’s prosperity and help citizens improve their lives.”
We are particularly happy that these two projects are implemented through EU standards and technologies. The EU will continue to assist the development of the Georgian agriculture sector with support programmes,” Brettel added.
Established in 2017 and co-funded with an investment of over 1 million GEL ($325,742/€299,879) under the EU-FAO matching grant programme, the Dmanisi Cattle Breeding facility is one of the large beef producers in Georgia.
Co-funding various capital investments in Georgia’s agriculture sectors, the matching grant is a one-time investment support for agricultural producers pledging to make a financial contribution.
About 250 Georgian farmers, cooperatives, SMEs and entrepreneurs were selected to receive matching grants for a total amount of 16.3 million GEL ($5.2mln/€4.7mln) in the last two years, EU in Georgia said.
Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of €234.5 million, the EU’s ENPARD programme supports agriculture and rural development in the country.
Improving productivity and competitiveness of agricultural farms in Georgia, and providing assistance to micro-, small-, and medium-sized agriculture and food production enterprises is the subject of an agreement signed between Otar Shamugia, the Georgian Agriculture Minister, and Raimund Jehle, the Representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Friday.
Environmental reforms in Georgia, projects implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the country and future cooperation avenues were discussed by Otar Shamugia, the Georgian Agriculture Minister, and Nick Beresford, the UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia, on Tuesday.
Georgian farmers will be able to get low-interest loans for production of annual crops, following latest changes to the preferential agro-credit state programme, Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia announced on Monday.
Water metering challenges in Georgia and the identification of the needs within the European Union programme EU4Environment – Water Resources and Environmental Data were discussed during a meeting between the Agriculture Ministry, parties involved in the programme and experts on Thursday.
Japan has allocated over $920,000 to the United Nations Development Programme in Georgia for supporting the country’s “sustainable and climate-friendly” forest management, the UNDP’s Georgian office announced on Thursday.
Georgia will host the second National Agrarian Olympiad this year to promote non-formal education and employment in the sector, the Agriculture Ministry announced on Friday.