In 2018, FDI in agriculture constituted 15.9 mln. USD. While the total FDI in 2018 was lower than in 2017, FDI in agriculture has significantly increased (by 28.2%). The highest FDI in agriculture was observed in the second quarter of 2018, while there was divestment (negative FDI) in the first quarter of 2018. The divestment was quite small and was followed by a significant increase in other quarters.

“Commercialization of farmers can happen only if land consolidation occurs and farmers benefit from economies of scale” – Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Giorgi Kobulia stated at the Rural Conference 2019 held in Tbilisi last week.

According to GeoStat’s preliminary data for 2018, Georgia’s economy grew by 4.7%- the same rate as in 2017. As 2017 was a challenging year for Georgian agriculture, the sector experienced -3.8% negative growth. Unlike 2017, agriculture in 2018 had a positive and rather modest growth rate of 0.7%.

On March 20, 2019, Pati Mamardashvili presented at the meeting of the Agricultural Innovation Committee of the Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The meeting was attended by members of the academy, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.

On March 11, representatives of the Bern University of Applied Sciences, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL), Dominic Blaettler (Ph.D. Social Sciences, Professor of Rural Development and Innovation, BFH-HAFL) and Pia Fehle (MSc Agricultural Sciences, Research Associate, BFH-HAF) visited ISET in the framework of the HAFL-ISET/APRC initiative.