On October 28 and 29, CARE International in the Caucasus carried out its Direct Beneficiary Survey of ENPARD-funded cooperatives in the regions of Guria, Samegrelo, and Racha-Lechkhumi & Kvemo Svaneti.

A total of 117 producers of cereal, potatoes, honey, fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural products answered questions regarding their socio-economic situation, how it has changed since the cooperative started, and what are their expectations for the future. Substantial amounts of data on harvests, livestock, and primary production volumes, as well as demographic information on farmers (e.g. gender, education, health, etc.), were collected.

During the survey process, two representatives of CARE, two representatives of ISET-PI's Agricultural Policy Research Center (APRC), and eight second-year students from ISET were involved. The interviewers departed from Tbilisi on October 27 and over the following days visited the members of ten selected cooperatives situated in western Georgia. The collected data will be analyzed, stored, and used to track the effects of the cooperatives on farmers’ well-being, their efficiency, and for a host of other purposes related to further agricultural development.