Georgia: Giorgi Khanishvili, First Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture attended the process of handing over the equipment to the agricultural cooperatives together with Zviad Shalamberidze, State Representative in the Imereti Region.
“We have transferred equipment to six cooperatives operating in Imereti, Guria and Samegrelo regions, through which they will be able to process high-quality tea grown in their area. On the one hand, they will reduce the cost; on the other hand, they will be able to serve the plantations around the cooperative, be able to provide uniform, high-quality, premium tea to both the Georgian market and export to the world market,” said the Deputy Minister of Environment and Agriculture. Giorgi Khanishvili.
According to the State Representative in the Imereti Region, Zviad Shalamberidze, tea production is traditional for the Imereti region; State programs in the field of agriculture are essential to support all the cooperatives and farmers who will be willing to get involved in agriculture and create wealth.
In Zestaponi municipality, within the framework of the program “Georgian Tea”, six agricultural cooperatives operating in Imereti and Guria regions were provided with modern equipment for tea production; State co-financing is 329,460 GEL.
Under the program, equipment worth 643,000 needed for tea production was handed over to 14 agricultural cooperatives in total.
Across Georgia, the rehabilitated area under the Georgian Tea program is 1,670 hectares, with co-financing from the Rural Development Agency exceeding GEL 3 million.
The Georgian Tea program has been implemented since 2016. Its goal is to make effective use of the potential of tea plantations in Georgia, promote the growth of local tea production, increase the level of self-sufficiency, and increase the export potential.