BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 25
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
The European Union (UN), Georgia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have allocated grants worth 2.2 million lari ($687,500) to support food production and food security in Georgia amid the COVID-19 crisis, Trend reports via Georgian media.
As reported, the investments mainly focus on the value chains of vegetables, potatoes, cereals, beef and dairy produce. Honey and wine producers will also benefit from the grants.
These grants will allow farmers, cooperatives, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in equipment and installations such as tractors, greenhouses with a contribution from the EU’s European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD), that will cover 40-60 percent of the investments. The total amount of the investments approved exceeds 5 million lari ($1.5 million).
EU Ambassador to Georgia, Carl Hartzell has said that EU will award 44 agricultural grants.
"In these challenging times, the EU remains one of the most dedicated partners to Georgia. Together with FAO, we are actively working to help Georgian farmers and producers to develop their farming activities. This is a particularly important initiative in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as the country needs to increase its food security and resilience capacities”, said Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador to Georgia.
Javier Sanz Alvarez, the coordinator of FAO-EU projects noted that regardless of hard emergency times, FAO and EU will keep on supporting farmers, producers and SMEs in Georgia.
"More than ever, we need to help our farmers, and now, in spring time, is the critical period to get prepared, cultivate and together prevent any food shortage in the country. We don’t stop, we support you," Sanz Alvarez said.
SMEs, cooperatives and farmers will be able to present their investment proposals to FAO and EU.
Information about the timeframe for submitting applications, procedures and investments is available on www.enpard.ge.
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