The FINANCIAL — The third Georgian Farmers’ Congress took place in Tbilisi on 7 June.
The congress was attended by a total of 250 participants, including smallholders, agricultural cooperatives, women farmers, decision makers, international organisations, Georgian Alliance for Agriculture and Rural Development (GAARD) members and other CSOs. Farmers met with government officials in the field of agriculture to discuss the challenges faced by the agricultural sector in the country. The Congress was organised by the EU-funded project “Improving National Food Security Strategy and Support of Smallholder Farmers”.
The Georgian Farmers’ Congress represents a unique platform, which fosters approximation of decision-making structures with farmers and ensures dialogue between stakeholders. Some of the issues discussed at the Congress were challenges and perspectives of smallholders regarding access to markets, available investments, loans and subsidy mechanisms for smallholder farmers and cooperatives.
This year farmers from all over Georgia discussed issues related to challenges for farmer cooperatives, market access barriers and challenges relating to access to finance, according to EU Neighbours East Info.
The “Improving National Food Security Strategy and Support of Smallholder Farmers” project supports the government of Georgia in the process of drafting and implementation of food security strategy. The project supports smallholder farmers to access local markets, which in itself will increase local diversified production.
Discussion about this post