Indexes
March 2022 | Agri Review
28
March
2022
On 17 December 2021, the parliament of Georgia approved the state budget for 2022, with allocations of around 19.2 billion GEL. From which the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) will receive 593.1 million (3.1% of the total budget allocation). MEPA will direct 14.5 mln. GEL towards the Environmental Protection and Agriculture Development Program (2.4% of MEPA’s total budget), with around 507.7 mln. (85.6% of their budget) to be allocated to agricultural development, and approximately 85.4 mln. GEL (12.0%) to be spent on environmental protection.
Compared to 2021, the budget for agricultural development will decrease by around 5.6%. Although additional state funds will be allocated to the National Food Agency (NFA) and the Agency for Sustainable Land Management and Land Use Monitoring (the so-called Land Agency), by 103.5% and 47.4%, respectively. The budget for Georgian Amelioration (GA) will also slightly increase, by 1.5%. While MEPA will direct further spending to the joint Environmental Protection and Agriculture Development Program (43.8% more than in 2021). Whereas, the budget for the National Wine Agency (NWA) and the Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture (SRCA) will decline by 44.5% and 8.1%, respectively. The Rural Development Agency (RDA) will lose 6.8% of its budget from the previous year (Figure 1).
Although the redistribution of funds has changed slightly, as in previous years, the greatest share of MEPA’s funds will support the RDA (51.5%), GA (18.1%), and the NWA (16.7%). The RDA will continue financing around 20 programs; including “Concessional Agri Credit”, with the highest budget of 121 mln. GEL (46% of their total budget), moreover 40 mln. (15%) and 27 mln. (10%) will be directed towards “Co-financing Agricultural Mechanization” and “Plant the Future”, respectively.
The State Budget for 2022 identifies the following core priorities for Georgian agricultural development:
- Supporting domestic production and improving the quality of locally produced agricultural goods;
- Improving access to financial resources for farmers and agricultural enterprises;
- Supporting land market development via the privatization of state lands and systematic land registration.
Recent Publications
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December 2023 | Agri Review
29
December
2023
Citrus production in Georgia is currently experiencing a declining trend, despite the implementation of a tangerine state subsidy program. Under the program, farmers receive 30 instead of 15 tetri for 1 kg of non-standard (low-quality) tangerines.
September 2023 | Agri Review
29
September
2023
Rtveli 2023 commenced this August. Similar to previous years, the Government of Georgia (GoG) is subsidizing the grape harvest again to support farmers who have suffered from worsening climate conditions. Based on information from MEPA representatives, the subsidy's primary aim is to guarantee that even producers with lower-quality grapes can still sell their products.
June 2023 | Agri Review
30
June
2023
In June 2023, the National Statistics Office of Georgia issued its annual publication on the agricultural sector – Agriculture of Georgia 2022. The publication estimates that agriculture, forestry, and fishing comprised 7.5% of the GDP (constant prices) in 2022, which is lower than the 8% share in 2021, but in line with general trends over the last few years (agricultural GDP being 7-8% of GDP on average).
March 2023 | Agri Review
31
March
2023
The budget for the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) amounted to 698.5 million GEL (an increase of 10.0 million GEL) in 2023.
December 2022 | Agri Review
26
December
2022
Hazelnuts are one of the most important crops for Georgia in terms of export: between 2010-2021, they accounted for around 4.4% of total exports (GeoStat, 2022). In 2013, the quantity of exported hazelnuts reached its maximum level (30 ths. tons), in the following years, it then decreased to 19 ths. tons alongside an increase in value, thus indicating higher prices per exported kg of Georgian hazelnut.
