 Georgia: The Deputy Minister of Environment and Agriculture, Tengiz Nasaridze attended the meeting of the Civic Committee with the Coordination Council between Agencies for Agriculture and Rural Development, where they introduced the Georgian Law on “Agriculture and Rural Development” to the civil sector.
The Law, which aims to stimulate the development of entrepreneurship in rural areas and to promote farmers’ competitiveness, sets out the general principles and requirements for determining the policies of agriculture and rural development and defines the competence of the state authorities responsible for its management.
According to Tengiz Nasaridze, the Law was developed in close cooperation with European colleagues and fully corresponds to the requirements of the European Union.
“For farmers, this law is a very important document because before now, there was no single framework legislative act which systematically regulates existing issues related to agriculture.” According to this Law, the structural arrangement, the goals of the field development, and the principles of policy development have been defined in many ways. Just like other developed countries, Georgia has already established approaches to agriculture development at the legislative level”, – noted Tengiz Nasaridze.
The Law on Agriculture and Rural Development was developed with technical assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and financial support from the European Union. According to UNDP project national manager Nodar Kereselidze, its adoption is a step forward in the EU integration process.
“This law serves precisely the purpose of bringing the field of Georgia’s agriculture and rural development policy closer to the EU policy, which, in the end, will have the effect that, on the one hand, the country will be closer to the European Union in this part, and on the other hand, the programs that the state implements for farmers, will be more effective, productive and profitable”, – G Nodar has announced Kereselidze.
Representatives of the civil sector welcome the adoption of the Law and its implementation in a unified framework. According to Sopho Diasamidze, Chairman of the Association for the Development of Organic Aquaculture, the Law will promote the coordinated work of state agencies, the civil sector, and associations.
Representatives of the European Union, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and heads of relevant authorities of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia attended the meeting with the members of the Civic Committee.
