Georgia: Rural Development Agency officials visit Blue Garden blueberry Plantation

Tbilisi: The officials of the Rural Development Agency of Georgia, including the Deputy Director of the Natalia Kharatishvili and David Verava, Deputy State Trustee of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, visited the blueberry plantation and refrigeration farming of the beneficiary company “Blue Garden” in the village of Zana of Senaki Municipality.

In 2020, the company “Blue Garden” in the village of Zana of Senaki municipality was entitled to co-financing of 249,664 GEL from the Rural Development Agency for the plantation of a blueberry garden on 17 hectares under the program “Plant Future” and the competitive agro credit amounted to 500,000 GEL.

The company has benefited from the state-supported programs in 2021 as well – to set up a refrigerated farm equipped with modern standards, a grant from the Rural Development Agency received 484,000 GEL and a discount agro credit of 730,000 GEL.

Notably, the refrigeration farming has the capacity to store 250 tons of blueberries. There are 15 locals permanently employed in the company, and seasonally, the number of daily workers reaches 150. The products are intended to be traded in the local markets of Georgia as well as exporting it to other nations.

It is noteworthy that the supportive state projects and programs implemented by the Rural Development Agency of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia has been an immense support to the farmers in almost every aspect of the value chain, including first-time production, storage-processing, and promoting market access.