In September 2014 Agricultural Policy Research Centre (APRC) at ISET Policy Institute started training in “Value Chain Analysis” (VCA) for The Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia (MoA). The training was funded by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Twelve employees from different departments of MoA were trained. The aim of this training was to familiarize participants with the concept of VCA and present various qualitative and quantitative tools used in VCA.

In March 2014, Heifer Georgia launched its “Comprehensive study on the Georgian sheep value chain” project. Heifer Project International, the umbrella organization of Heifer Georgia, intends to support the development of the Georgian sheep sector for the next decade, starting with sheep wool processing.

On May 31, ISET organized an excursion to an agricultural cooperative called “Gift of Forest” in Tsinamdzgvriantkari, in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia. The purpose of the excursion was to learn more about a successful cooperative and understand how this success could be replicated in other contexts and value chains in Georgia.

The study analyzed the sheep and sheep products value chains in Georgia, identified main constraints in the chains and gave recommendations for their further development. In March 2014, Heifer Georgia launched its “Comprehensive study on the Georgian sheep value chain” project

On March 12 ISET hosted a presentation by Jean-Marc Stavroulakis, Country Finance Manager of Carrefour Georgia, and Petr Dlouhy, Merchandise Manager of the Fresh Division of Carrefour. The main points of the presentation were Carrefour’s market strategy to overcome existing socio-economic obstacles to the development of effective value chains in the Georgian agricultural sector for 2014.