Tbilisi: The Non-Government Organisation CSRDG (Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia) implemented the servant community projects with the help of the United Nations. The projects aimed to promote the awareness regarding agriculture sector and its new practices as well.
The latest project implemented under the project includes the “Agrolab” (Agrolab Agro School), which was implemented by the Mediators Association of Guria in Ozurgeti to raise awareness about the agriculture sector schmes being launched by thhe Goevrnment.
It is also worth mentioning that the population in the rural areas of Ozurgeti municipality acquired new knowledge and experience on agriculture-related issues. Some of the issues included the production of organic/natural fertilizers and enrichments in their own plots. The environmental and cost-effective advantages of composting and mulching were also the topics of these projects.
Another project was organized in the village of Jumat  where local residents have learned how to plant and care for the fruits of blueberries, hazelnuts, and other new varieties. Also  a study corner was organized in the open space for training and information meetings.
Recently  15 members of eco clubs went on a study tour and visited the Batumi Greening Greenhouse and Batumi Botanical Garden to deepen their understanding of the topics.
The Ministry of Agriculture  held a another  meeting in which the population identified their needs  and the Ministry shared the sector’s development strategy and current projects. At the same time  four acute problems of local residents were included in the regional division’s annual report and will be submitted to the Ministry.
It is  worth mentioning that the project’s direct beneficiaries were 1195 people involved in project activities and indirect beneficiaries were more than 5000 people living in 3 communities of Ozurgeti municipality.
The total budget of the project was 13000 GEL out of which 9000 GEL was allocated as grant funding with the support of the United Nations Joint Program for the Promotion of Gender Equality in Georgia (UNDP Georgia) Â within the framework of the “Women’s Empowerment for Change” project of the Strategic Research and Development Center of Georgia.
The NGO representative said that we do work for better Georgia. However  the adopted law “On transparency of foreign influence” and the requirement to register as an “organization carrying the interests of a foreign power” will make our activities impossible and hinder the support of thousands of citizens. This law threatens cooperation with the country’s strategic partners and Georgia’s accession to the European Union and needs to be scrapped as soon as possible.
