My dad used to tell me stories about the exciting period when the Soviet Union’s economy started faltering and public resources were suddenly up for grabs in the chaos of capitalism that emerged. While this period is usually associated with the appearance of crafty oligarchs, in Georgia also less wily businessmen could exploit the circumstances, among them many Turks.

Under the Soviet system, farmers worked under strong central control; everyone knew what to do. Important economic decisions were not left to the market or decided by self-interested individuals. Instead, the government, which owned or controlled much of the economy’s resources, decided what, when, and how to produce. Along with providing necessary inputs, the state ensured that farmers had access to markets for their goods.

The Republic of Georgia was among the fastest Former Soviet Union countries to implement large-scale land reform and land redistribution plans, starting in 1992. Land redistribution resulted in the formation of hundreds of thousands of small family farms, replacing large-scale collectives and production cooperatives (Sovkhozez and Kolkhozes). The main purpose of this land individualization process was, arguably, to help a large part of the population survive extremely hard times.

Nino Kvirkvelia and her husband Irakli Todua are not exactly your typical Georgian smallholders. Both spouses are well-educated (both hold economics and business degrees from reputable Georgian institutions). More importantly in the context of Georgian agriculture, the couple owns 28(!) hectares of arable land in Georgia’s horticultural heaven, Samegrelo, best known for its hazelnuts.

Back in ancient times, the moon was the center of everybody’s attention. People worshipped the moon and believed that it had mystical powers. Since then, the lunar effect on human mood and behavior has been an issue for psychological and astrological research. Surprisingly, many economic papers are also concerned about the influence of the lunar phases on stock returns.