2022-04-16
Today, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, together with Cabinet Members, visited a Preferential Agro Credit project beneficiary's modern-standard refrigerated warehouse and 5-hectare fruit farm in Chumlaki village, Gurjaani Municipality.
Shalva Kartlelishvili's refrigerated warehouse, built with the state's financial assistance, allows for storing up to 140 tons of fruits. The enterprise employs 60 seasonal workers. According to the farmer, without state assistance, the project would have never come true. Overall, one million GEL has been invested, including 330,000 GEL as a preferential loan.
The Head of Government was briefed in detail by the Minister. In particular, a total of over 2,400 loans valued at 273 million GEL has been issued for the development of storage and refrigerated warehouse infrastructure throughout Georgia under the Preferential Agro Credit project, with financing from the Rural Development Agency amounting to over 38 million GEL. Among others, over 1,000 loans valued at more than 104 million GEL have been issued in Kakheti Region, of which over 13 million GEL has been issued in co-financing by the Rural Development Agency.
According to the Prime Minister, the state will continue actively supporting local farmers through various agricultural development programs. Last year alone, a total of 4.5 billion GEL has been invested in agriculture, with the state's share amounting to 960 million GEL. The fact that Georgia has significant agricultural production resources is an opportunity for the country gradually to reduce import, diversify markets, and increase export, the Head of Government emphasized. To that end, the state is investing heavily in agricultural production, be it primary production, processing, sterilization, storage, sale, or others. Notably, the Rural Development Agency, under grant programs alone, has co-financed 101 storage and refrigerated warehouses throughout the country. The amount of investments exceeds 124 million GEL, including over 47.6 million GEL in co-financing from the state. Of these 101 enterprises, 17 are based in Kakheti Region, with their investment value exceeding 16.5 million GEL, of which co-financing from the Rural Development Agency exceeds 7 million GEL.
The emergence of modern storage and refrigerated warehouse infrastructure in the country allows for storing 65,000 tons of primary products in line with international standards, consequently ensuring competitiveness in both international and local markets.
In addition, Plant the Future, one of the most demanded programs, enables farmers to build modern intensive gardens and harvest abundant crops of top quality both for export and the local market. Since the program's inception, the state has financed new perennial gardens covering a total of 17,000 hectares of land. Notably, the state, through the Plant the Future program, has issued 600,000 GEL to finance peach orchards stretching a total of 133 hectares of land, including 170,000 GEL to cover 33 hectares in Kakheti Region.
The Head of Government was accompanied by Vice Prime Minister/Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Otar Shamugia, Minister of Education and Science Mikheil Chkhenkeli, Head of the Government Administration's Regional Liaison Department Leri Barnabishvili, Gurjaani Mayor Zurab Utiashvili, Gurjaani Majoritarian MP Davit Songhulashvili, and other MPs.
Press Service of the Government Administration