On 25 January 2017, researchers from the APRC attended a stakeholder meeting of the European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). The meeting was organized by EVOLUXER, which is an implementing partner for capacity building to the Agricultural Cooperatives Development Agency (ACDA).

ENPARD’s key stakeholders were in attendance, including the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, Giorgi Khanishvili; the Programme Manager at the European Union Delegation to Georgia, Cristina Casella; the head of the Agricultural Cooperatives Development Agency, Giorgi Misheladze; representatives of the ENPARD implementing partners, such as Oxfam, Mercy Corps, Care, People in Need, and other parties involved in the process.

Irakli Kochlamazashvili, Senior Researcher and ENPARD Project Coordinator at ISET, presented the results from the Annual Cooperative Survey (for the ENPARD supported cooperatives) at the meeting. Annual Cooperative Survey was conducted for a total of 118 cooperatives. The main sub-sectors covered by cooperatives are apiculture, hazelnuts, cereals, viticulture, and potato farming.

Ia Katsia, a researcher at the APRC, presented the midterm results from the ongoing study. The research was conducted to assess the training evaluation. The purpose of this assessment was the analysis of pre- and post-tests for agriculture cooperatives, preparing conclusions and recommendations for revision/modification in line with final impact assessments. The main idea is to contribute to business sustainability and strengthen the registered cooperatives.