Agricultural Research Center presents Report 2023

Georgia: The representatives of the Agricultural Research Center presented a report of the work completed for 2023 to state agencies and non-governmental organizations on the project “Preservation of traditional varieties adapted to climate change in agriculture, strengthening the link between in-situ and ex-situ forms of conservation” to conserve traditional varieties of wheat, maize, and beans.

To preserve traditional varieties of seed crops, in 2023 at local and international levels, more than 2000 samples have been searched.

In 2023, within the framework of the project, the Agricultural Research Center, at the local and international levels, searched for genetic material of traditional Georgian breeds. So far, 44 samples of wheat have been received from the National Botanical Garden of Georgia, 227 samples from the US Genbank, 7 of maize, 8 of beans, and 212 of wheat; 1773 samples have been received from Germany Genbak, including 257 of wheat, 1219 of beans and 301 of maize. 

The relevant service of the Scientific and Research Center conducted expeditions in four regions: Samtskhe-Javakheti, Imereti, Guria, and Samegrelo, within which 11 samples of wheat, 90 maize and 100 beans were collected.

It is worth noting that the Agricultural Research and Science Center and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will implement a 4-year grant project in 2023. 

The project aims to study the current situation of collections of target cultures in Georgia, to enrich the collection of the Plant Genetic Bank, to return the genetic resources of target cultures taken from Georgia at different times, and to arrange expeditions for collecting genetic resources.

The implementation of the project will improve the use and conservation of traditional breeds, make data on target crop collections available at national and international levels, and help the spread of local breeds under farming conditions, which in turn help to maintain their biodiversity.

The meeting held at the Agricultural Research Center was attended by representatives of the Biological Agriculture Association “Elkana”, Association of Georgia Farmers, Union of Georgian Wheat Producers, National Botanical Garden of Georgia, Botanical Institute of Ilia State University and the Technical University of Georgia.