The second National Agricultural Olympiad was held in Georgia. Giorgi Khanishvili, the First Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Raimund Jehle, FAO Representative in Georgia, and Alexander Karner, the Head of Office/Coordination of the Austrian Embassy in Tbilisi awarded the winners.

The National Agricultural Olympiad is the only knowledge-based competition in the agricultural field throughout the country and in the region. It aims to promote  different agricultural professions and education. This year, 964 contestants participated in the olympiad and 38 winners were awarded in the various nominations and categories.

The National Agricultural Olympiad targeted four different categories: specialist, student, farmer, and pupil. Specialists and students competed in the fields of agronomy, veterinary, wine technology, food technology, mechanization, and forestry, while the pupils and farmers tested their knowledge in general categories like agriculture, biodiversity, environmental protection, and ecology.  

"Agrarian Olympiad 2022 clearly showed us that agriculture in Georgia and the agrarian sector, in general, have great prospects and potential for development. We saw how the private sector needs professional and qualified personnel. It is commendable that almost all winners received an offer of a paid internship with the prospect of further employment. I would like to thank the organizers of the olympiad and the donor organizations, who motivated various types of people interested in agriculture - farmers, pupils, students, and specialists. I would like to thank all the partner companies of the Olympiad, who awarded the winners with notable prizes. Today, we saw young people, children with sparkles in their eyes, making their first steps toward success. I want to congratulate and wish success to all the winners of the National Agricultural Olympiad. I believe that all of them will contribute their knowledge and experience to the development of the country,” said Giorgi Khanishvili.

“The National Agriculture Olympiad is very important, in particular, to increase awareness and understanding in the field and about the attractiveness of agriculture in order to bring new partners in and create a new future for the agriculture sector. The increased number of participants shows that it is becoming interesting and attractive.  We saw many prizes, even jobs, offered by the private companies to the winners. This is the new way to attract people to the agriculture sector,” said Raimund Jehle, FAO Representative in Georgia.

"On behalf of the Austrian Development Cooperation, we are very delighted to support this important ceremony and the National Agrarian Olympiad already the second time. Its success has been proved by the fact that this year the number of participants have doubled. This Olympiad is one of the best ways to advocate the agriculture sector, to have the sustainable agriculture in the country and, of course, in a long run, to increase the productivity in the country. Also, this year it was delighting to see the participation of so many Georgian companies. We are looking forward to next year’s competition to be increased and even of larger scale,” said Alexander Karner, Head of the Technical Cooperation Coordination Office of the Austrian Embassy.

This year, the business representatives showed unprecedentedly high interest towards the National Agricultural Olympiad. They awarded the winners with the various prizes: paid internship opportunities with the perspectives for employment, monetary prizes, household appliances, etc. The following companies and organizations partnered with the Olympiad 2022: Aldagi, TBC for Business, Nuts.ge, Beko, Farmers Association, Kirk; Kula; Achinebuli (Alali), Invet Feed, Agromotors, Agrolane, Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia, Geonaturals, Agrokoziki, Agrosphere, Agronimi, Baraka, and Shumi Winery.

The representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the international donor organizations, and the partner companies of the olympiad attended the awarding ceremony.

The National Agricultural Olympiad is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia. The organizers of the Olympiad are the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), The Agricultural Development Association (ADA), the USAID Agriculture Program, and the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN).