Growing productivity for Georgia’s women farmers
Enhancing livelihoods of rural population, particularly of women, is part of the FAO-EU support to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia in the implementation of the gender inclusive National Strategy for Agricultural Extensi
Inga Beruashvili working on her land. Photo: ©FAO
Georgia is primarily an agricultural country, and women are crucial participants and contributors to agricultural development. Nonetheless, the contribution of women to agricultural production remains invisible and under-recognized.
These women also face difficulties in accessing crucial resources such as land, agricultural inputs, new technologies, and financing opportunities, as well as information, extension services, and training opportunities. With better agricultural knowledge rural women could enhance their farms’ production and raise standard of living for their children and families.
To overcome this shortcoming, female farmers in Georgia have learned about agricultural production and good practices from FAO and the European Union (EU) under the umbrella of the European Neighborhood Programme for Agricultural and Rural Development (ENPARD).
Tsiuri Beridze lives in Georgia’s mountainous Adjara region that is short of arable land and thus challenging enough even for FAO agronomists. She was among the first female farmers in her community volunteering to learn about the new agricultural practices and technologies.
She vigorously enriched her substantial experience of tomato production and took full advantage of producing vegetable seedlings in trays, arranging ridges and mulch, as well as using transplanters for seedlings, a process which ultimately saved her a lot of hard, physical work.