2 June, 2017 - Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations brought together the stakeholders and implementing partners of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) for the 13^th ENPARD stakeholders’ meeting. The meeting aimed to share the updates within the EU supported ENPARD projects and to discuss the new actions that can promote the climate smart agriculture in Georgia, leading to a sustainable farming.

The meeting was opened by Mr. Nodar Kereselidze, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture. He summarized the achievements reached within ENPARD I Phase and reported on the ongoing activities under ENPARD II Phase. The First Deputy Minister also stressed the importance of elaborating new visions and new types of programmes for sustainable agricultural and rural development practices in the country.

 Mr. Alvaro Ortega, Attaché, Rural Development Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia informed the meeting participants on the state of the current projects supported by the EU within ENPARD II and also touched upon the progress made in the negotiations on ENPARD III. Mr. Ortega reiterated EU’s continuous commitment under ENPARD programme to support agriculture and rural development in Georgia.

Discussing the climate smart agriculture approaches, the Coordination and Support Officer for FAO-ENPARD Projects in Georgia, Javier Sanz Alvarez presented FAO’s vision, proposing actions to mainstream climate smart agriculture in the country. The recommendations focused on land use and planning, implementing good agricultural practices for soil, water and crop management, reducing agricultural green gas emissions and establishing efficient agrometeorological services.

There was an open discussion where ENPARD stakeholders shared their opinions and practical experiences on the successes and challenges of climate smart agriculture activities and practices under ENPARD.

The meeting was concluded with the presentations of ENPARD implementing partner organisations. Representatives of UNDP, Mercy Corps, Care, PIN, Oxfam, RDFG, HEKS-EPER, GIPA and others updated the audience on the progress within their projects.

The meeting was also attended by other donor organizations that also briefed on their activities in support to Georgia’s agriculture and rural sectors.

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.