PM vows “maximum support” for wheat producers, winemakers affected by adverse weather

The PM said the Government had already paid out ₾20 million ($7 mln) to farmers in accepting damaged grapes from them. Photo: Government press office 

Agenda.ge, 02 Oct 2023 - 15:51, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday pledged “maximum support” and “additional measures” to support farmers involved in wheat production, while also announcing financial aid to winemakers affected by adverse weather last month. 

Speaking at the weekly Government meeting, the PM said his office would allocate ₾3,000 ($1,100) per hectare of winemaking land affected by hail and adverse weather, with the funds to be used for “saving damaged vineyards and their restoration”. 

He noted the authorities had already paid out ₾20 million ($7 mln) to farmers in accepting damaged grapes from them. 

Announcing “additional measures” to support wheat producers, the head of the Government said the country’s Agriculture Ministry would provide “all necessary information” about the matter following the meeting. 

Pointing to his office’s previous efforts to ensure aid to farmers considering low international prices on the product, the PM said agro-credits had been handed to 4,000 of them. 

He also said the Government had funded working capital and provided incentives to increase wheat production, while also imposing an additional fee on the import of flour, which he said had put the mills in Georgia in a competitive position, with the combined preventing an increase in bread prices.