This project aims to support the development of business-oriented small farmer groups (e.g., agricultural cooperatives) with the goals of increasing agricultural productivity and reducing rural poverty in Georgia.

There are many possibilities for how to increase the productivity of the Georgian agricultural sector. Experts suggest upgrading knowledge and technologies, promoting collaboration among farmers, and coping with the land fragmentation problem, to name just a few of the ideas circulating in the debate.

On June 28, the Georgian Parliament passed a bill imposing a moratorium on land acquisition by foreigners and foreign-owned legal entities till the end of 2014. The bill effectively reversed an earlier policy that welcomed foreigners to settle and invest in Georgia’s agricultural sector, a policy culminating in the seemingly outlandish program seeking to bring to Georgia – and offer fast-track naturalization to – dozens of expert farmers from South Africa.

Located only 800m from the South Ossetian border, the village of Kvemo Nikozi was swept by the invading Russian troops in August 2008.

The Great Trek was a defining moment in the history of the Boer, white South African farmers of Dutch descent. In the early 19th century the Boer migrated from the Cape Colony to the interior of what is today South Africa.