In the middle of June, food prices increased by 5.0% on an annual basis (that is, compared to June 2016), but decreased by 0.3% on a monthly basis (that is, compared to May 2017). During the last two weeks, greens, potatoes, and cabbage showed the biggest increase in prices by 29.4%, 23.8%, and 23.3%, respectively. In the meantime, tomato, cucumber and cheese prices dropped by 26.8%, 15.7% and 7.1%, respectively.

Food safety has become an important aspect of agricultural policy for many countries (see, e.g., CAP). By definition, “Food safety refers to the conditions and practices that preserve the quality of food to prevent contamination and foodborne illnesses.” In other words, food safety aims to protect the health of humans, animals and plants at every stage of the food production chain in conformance with the "farm-to-table” principle established by the EU.

The two-day field trip to Racha (a highland area in western Georgia, located in the upper Rioni river valley and hemmed in by the Greater Caucasus mountains), included visits to Blauenstein Georgia and the Natural Products of Racha agricultural cooperative, during which local representatives of the farm and cooperative introduced ISET students to the current operations, capacities, and highlights of their respective enterprises.

APRC will carry out an assessment of enterprise performance of agricultural cooperatives after conducted training and development programs, and will identify further steps and areas of the improvement.

APRC is working on a research to inform the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia on the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation measures in agriculture of Georgia.