Georgia: Otar Shamugia inspects refrigeration farm created with support of Rural Development Agency

Georgia: Otar Shamugia, Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture, together with Irakli Shioshvili, State Representative in the Kakheti Region, met with local farmers in Gurjaani Municipality and got familiarized with the ongoing preparatory work on the peach harvesting, accommodation and sale.

“We receive information from farmers about the needs they have. The peach season will soon begin, followed by wheat and barley harvest. We will have headquarters that will function and coordinate the harvesting and accommodation process, which will involve the local government. We will do our best to ensure that the crop is housed in a timely manner and that farmers do not have problems in this regard,” said Otar Shamugia, the Minister of Environment and Agriculture.

The Minister inspected the refrigeration farm set up with the support of the Rural Development Agency, which was set up by farmer Givi Nebunishvili in the village of Vachnadziani in Gurjaani Municipality in 2020.

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At the refrigeration farm, at this stage, preparations are being made for the sale of strawberries. At the meeting with the farmers, the Minister noted that within the framework of state projects, about 40 refrigeration farms have been funded and set up in two years, which has significantly facilitated the accommodation and subsequent export of the peach crop.

Peach exports have increased approximately 2.5 times in the last two years.

Givi Nebunishvili invested 350,000 GEL in the creation of a refrigeration farm equipped with modern standards with state financial support, of which 300,000 GEL is preferential agro-credit. Up to 100 tons of fruit can be stored in the refrigerator. The enterprise seasonally employs 40 people.

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In the Kakheti region, within the framework of the preferential agro-credit project, more than 150 loans worth more than 31 million GEL have been issued for the development of refrigeration infrastructure, and the co-financing issued by the Rural Development Agency is more than 3 million GEL.