Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the EU supported European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD), conducted a training for 50 representatives of the Agricultural Ministry’s Information-Consulting Centres.

Participants from 30 municipalities of all regions of Georgia attended the five-day training, getting acquainted with advanced knowledge and experience in post-harvest technologies and the handling of perishable food. The Training of Trainers (ToT) included information on  the entire cycle of post-harvest handling from harvesting to selling. Pre-harvest factors affecting product quality, main harvesting principles, packing and packaging, transporting, preventing insects and other damaging factors were the main highlights of the ToT, which aimed to help farmers in generating quality food and increase their economic benefits.

FAO expert Mr. Elhadi Yahia covered the key post-harvest technology and management techniques in detail. He  also presented post-harvest technologies for crops important for Georgia, such as apples, grapes, potatoes, greens, etc.

After the theoretical part of the ToT, the participants moved to food storage and packaging facilities for hands-on demonstrations of Mr. Yahia’s lessons.

The key premise of the trainings is that the attendees will now return to their regions to share the information they learned with at least ten other individuals.  

At the end of the training, the participants were awarded with certificates.

The European Union is supporting agriculture and rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 102 million (2013-2019), the main goal of ENPARD is to reduce rural poverty in Georgia. More information on ENPARD is available at: www.enpard.ge.