Georgia, Tbilisi, Dec. 5 / Trend N. Kirtzkhalia /
The European Union and the Georgian government will implement the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development. Georgian Agriculture Minister David Kirvalidze, head of the Eastern Europe-EU cooperation mission Andrea Fontana and EU Ambassador to Georgia Philip Dimitrov have discussed the project's start date and its main priorities at a meeting.
The EU will allocate 40 million euros for the Georgian agricultural sector.
"Agricultural development is one of the top priorities of the Georgian leadership," Kirvalidze said. "It is very important that the EU focuses on this area and we begin the implementation of this large scale project."
The purpose of the programme is to increase food production in Georgia and poverty reduction in rural areas. The programme must assist in the implementation of the national sector strategy and help strengthen small farms.
"In future, agriculture will be one of the areas of Europe's support for Georgia," Philip Dimitrov said. "But the mission is also working to develop a long term action plan for 2014-2017. We have met with the Georgian side to determine the areas that are most interesting for Georgia in terms of European aid. I think the meeting was interesting and fruitful."
The programme envisages assistance to the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture in support of cooperation and establishing the service centres, as well as help Adjara's Ministry of Agriculture in the development of the private sector.