On 26-28 September 2016, an ENPARD study tour, involving ENPARD Georgia, ENPARD Moldova, and ENPARD Armenia, was organized by the EU Delegation to Armenia and the FAO Office in Yerevan. The European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) was launched in Georgia in 2013, in Armenia in 2014, and recently started operations in Moldova.
Few may have noticed an amendment to the Georgian Law on Higher Education, passed in December 2015, which potentially ushers in a new era for Georgia’s higher education system. As of January 2017, (some) Georgian professors and senior research staff will be appointed for an indefinite term (i.e. given "tenure").
The particular importance of agriculture in Ukraine is so strong that it has been suggested by some that it is reflected in the country's flag; the golden yellow field of wheat sits beneath a blue sky, said to be a common sight in rural Ukraine.
As the Election Day of October 8th approaches, we hear more and more about the platforms of Georgian political parties. Given that political competition is very fierce, one naturally expects to hear some blatantly populist statements – the kind of political promises (known to humanity from the times of Aristophanes) which are very popular among the voters, but are hard or impossible to implement in practice.
Despite being a predominantly rural country, Georgia suffers from extensive issues related to agricultural development. To this end, ENPARD, a European Union rural development program, has assisted with the establishment of a number of cooperatives throughout the country. The success stories of two of these prompted a recent visit by members of the Agricultural Policy Research Centre.