World Bank: improving Georgia’s agriculture central to sustainable economic growth

The report summarises the main constraints and opportunities facing Georgia in efforts to boost the contribution of the agriculture sector to economic growth, as well as its contribution to diversification, job creation, poverty reduction, food security, and climate resilience and mitigation. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Agenda.ge, 31 May 2022 - 16:20, Tbilisi,Georgia

A new report published by the World Bank on Tuesday said agriculture, water, and land in Georgia could be a source of “increased economic productivity,” including a transition from low agriculture returns to high-value crop production, if supported by targeted policies and complementary public and private investments.

The report Agriculture, Water, and Land Policies to Scale Up Sustainable Agri-food Systems in Georgia summarises the main constraints and opportunities facing Georgia in efforts to boost the contribution of the agriculture sector to economic growth, as well as its contribution to diversification, job creation, poverty reduction, food security, and climate resilience and mitigation. 

In the past decade, the value of food production has increased sharply, with some export-oriented producers and agri-businesses successfully developing value chains, and showing that sustainable growth is feasible. Agricultural competitiveness is crucial for Georgia’s sustainable economic growth, which means that it needs to invest in improving production, processing, compliance with international market standards, and efficiency of supply chains," Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, said.

The report emphasises that resolving agriculture sector constraints is a necessary but insufficient condition for improving the sector’s performance. 

“The availability and efficient use of water resources in a reliable, timely, and flexible manner for farmers is critical for the sector’s growth, while improved land management and administration are necessary for secure land ownership, as well as a sustainable and productive management of resources.”

“Thus, simultaneous interventions will be required in addressing core sector constraints in Georgia’s water and land sectors, and the timing is even more urgent when factoring in increasing climate change variability and risks,” the document concludes.