Tbilisi: Minister of Environment and Agriculture Otar Shamugia with Giorgi Urushadze, Chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the Georgian Parliament Nino Tsilosan and Executive Director of the Nut Producers Association Together with R. George Todua, in the village of Lanchkhuti municipality met with the farmers and introduced the state program of nut production support.The meeting was also attended by local authorities.
Shamugia discussed about the low yield of nuts in the current year , due to various reasons – “This year the nut crop was low and the quality was low, due to various reasons, including climate conditions. Heavy rainfall has prevented us from taking proper measures at full speed. All of this will affect the income of each and every one of our farmers. 10,000 families are employed in the nut sector, and for many of them it provides a significant income source.
“Since the Georgian nuts are one of the most important export products; it is because of these circumstances that the government discussed with you, the association, the Parliament Committee, the relevant structures and decided that certain searches should have been carried out in support of the sector; therefore, a nut production promotion programme has been established and implemented,” Otar Shamugia said.
State program for nut production support is implemented in all Georgian municipalities, except for self-governing cities.
The program envisages providing financial assistance to individuals who own 0.2 ha to 3-ha nut gardens. The subsidy amount is determined by 500 GEL, with every 1 ha. Assistance will be provided by depositing relevant points on agro-cards, which will be used by farmers to purchase nut production at specialized stores.
 Peanut farmers must register their nut orchards in the nut cadastre by January 31, 2023 to receive financial aid. Around 100,000 farmers will participate in the program. As a result of implementation of the program, the care and supply facilities for the production of quality nuts on 40,000 ha will be funded.
