Iuri Nozadze the Deputy Minister of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia met with Petra Engel an international expert on plant genetic resources. They discussed the various issues of the project “Strengthening the link between forms of plant genetic resources and in-situ, ex-situ conservation “.
Yuri Nozadze spoke at this meeting about the importance of restoring and conserving plant genetic resources and focused on the role of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture in this process. He explained the details of the measures being taken to implement innovative agriculture-related policies as well.
Georgian minister Yuri Nozadze stated “The Agricultural Scientific and Research Center is actively working on the search, protection, and conservation of genetic resources across the country. Moreover within the framework of this project, effective cooperation on the conservation of plant genetics is going on under international obligations in this regard”.
On the other hand according to Petra Engel Georgia’s accession to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food Production and Agriculture is an important progress which together with the project will help to protect and manage the country’s rich plant genetic resources.
At the same time parallel to conducting training and expeditions the project’s main tasks are to return genetic resources of plants of Georgian origin from the international gene banks, geomorphologically characterise the collected material, and provide scientists and farmers with access to identified, high-quality national collection seed material.
It is worth noting that the project is being implemented with the financial support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an international organization related to farming activities.
Meanwhile Levan Ujmajuridze Director of the Agricultural Scientific and Research Center and Representatives of relevant services attended the meeting held at the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture.
The meeting was held in a very conducive atmosphere, and both sides agreed to cooperate. The Georgian minister said that in-situ and ex-situ conservation is very important for protecting natural resources and countering the threats of climate change. Iuri Nozadze
