The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the EU-funded European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD III), announces a third cycle of Grant Competition to support agricultural initiatives in Georgia. The Application Review Committee is now reviewing applications submitted during the first grant cycle.

Theobjectives of this grant initiative are to improve access to finance, services, equipment and inputs for farmers, rural households, cooperatives and other small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas. These improvements are expected to contribute to increased competitiveness of the agricultural sector and better livelihoods for people living in the rural areas. For this cycle, applications requesting a matching grant to finance the purchase of a tractor only will be handled in priority.

The competition includes two categories of grants. Within the Grant Category 1 agricultural initiatives will be funded for farmers, rural households, cooperatives and SMEs whose farms and businesses operate in one of the following municipalities: Lagodekhi, Dedoplistskaro, Tetriskaro, Akhalkalaki, Borjomi, Kazbegi, Keda or Khulo. These are the eight municipalities where the rural development LEADER projects are implemented under the EU-funded ENPARD Programme. The Grant Category 1 will support capital investments like machinery and equipment in any sector of agriculture.

The Grant Category 2 will support farmers, rural households, cooperatives and SMEs who operate in the municipalities of Akhaltsikhe, Dusheti, Khelvachauri, Shuakhevi, Marneuli, Bolnisi, Dmanisi, Gardabani, Tsalka, Ninotsminda, Aspindza, Kvareli, Gurjaani and Sighnaghi. This grant category follows a value chain approach and aims to support the following 5 sectors: beef (in all municipalities), dairy (in all municipalities), vegetable (in Kvareli, Gurjaani and Sighnaghi), wheat (in Sighnaghi) and potato production (in Tsalka, Ninotsminda and Aspindza). 

The Grant Competition also gives an opportunity to the cooperatives registered in all the regions of Georgia to obtain co-financing.

Grant competition will not cover operating expenditures such as inputs, working capital and seeds. The required contribution that can be provided by the project should not be below 1.000 USD or above 150,000 USD for the application to be considered eligible.

The initiative will provide 40% grants and requires beneficiaries to co-invest a minimum of 60% of the total investment requirement. 

The initiative will also aim to support specific investments with high economic, social, and environmental impact and will increase the level of support to 60%.

The applications will be accepted until 30 September. For information about the dates, application submission, required supporting documents, and promoted investments, please visit the website: WWW.FAOGRANTS.ge

For any additional information, please refer to the list of regional coordinators on the websites.