Mr. Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, has officially opened a new laboratory of Seed and Planting Material Standardization and Certification Department of the Scientific-Research Centre (SRC). The Laboratory, equipped by FAO with funding from the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), will conduct quality tests for different varieties of cereal seeds using the latest Austrian equipment.

The laboratory, which is located in the village of Tsilkani in the Mtskheta Municipality, will perform the following analyses in accordance with universally accepted standards of International Seed Testing Association (ISTA): Seed Sampling, Seed Purity Analysis, Seed Germination test, Seed Viability test, Moisture Content, 1000 seed weight, Pest and Disease analysis, Phytopathology test, etc.

FAO and ADC, hae also transferred a plot harvester and two seeder machines to the laboratory. These machines are produced in Austria and are used for wide variety of cereal seeds. They enable the staff of the SRC to harvest several trails in a single operation and, thanks to the system specifications, have a clean, mix-free harvest. A representative of the manufacturer trained the staff of SRC in the operation of these machines.

The SRC, with support from FAO and ADC, implemented the Seeds Certification System for cereal seeds, a component of Capacity Building Project of the Ministry of Agriculture. Under the seed certification project, farmers will be able to certify seeds for free until 2020. The certification system will allow Georgian farmers to have access to high quality seeds, which will result in higher yields. In addition, it will protect Georgian market from falsified seed material.