A working meeting of the Georgian Agriculture Alliance for Rural Development (GAARD) was held on January 31 2017 by Oxfam and BRIDGE - Innovation and Development, a local NGO.

There are five different working groups in GAARD: (i) Food Security, (ii) Access to Services, (iii) Access to Finance, (iv) Cooperation and Smallholder Farmers, and (v) the Environment, Diversity, and Land Usage group.

APRC researcher Ia Katsia participated in a GAARD meeting in which Alliance members presented developed advocacy plans on different topics developed by the working groups of the GAARD. During the meeting, advocacy priorities were highlighted for each working group, and the participants discussed future activities and important topics related to agriculture.

Two new members have joined the Alliance, the Association of Young Economists of Georgia and the FERT organization, and both will be actively involved in joint advocacy for agricultural and rural development issues.

The APRC is planning to participate in several working groups of GAARD to assist in its goals and activities.