From May 14-18, Pati Mamardashvili visited the Geisenheim University in Germany to attend seminars and give lectures to students. Pati’s visit was aimed at reinforcing cooperation between ISET’s Agricultural Economics Concentration and Geisenheim University.

ISET was honored to host a third delegation representing the long-time partner, the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen. A four-day program included anti-corruption seminars, public discussions, and site visits to relevant public institutions and businesses.

The agricultural cooperative movement started a few years ago in Georgia and the registered farmer groups are currently still at the embryonic stage of development. The Soviet legacy and rather negative attitude towards earlier forms of cooperation (Kolkoz and Sovkhoz) has gradually faded among farmers, and today more than 1,400 cooperatives are registered with the Agricultural Cooperative Development Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia.

On December 5, 2017, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET) and Mgaloblishvili Kipiani Dzidziguri (MKD). This cooperation comprises implementing educational programs, organizing workshops, lectures, and other similar events as well as promoting students’ internships and employment prospects.

With EU financial and technical assistance, as well as training and education on cooperation and agribusiness, small farmers in Georgia are benefitting from economies of scale, cutting their production costs and increasing efficiency.