Georgian farmers and policymakers now have a new and innovative tool at their fingertips. A new data source located at the farmer’s online portal – www.farmer.gov.ge – allows Georgians to monitor local prices for up to one hundred agricultural and food products in markets throughout the country. An online platform of statistics was developed by FAO under the EU supported European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) in close collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture.

Up-to-date statistics on local food prices – everything from maize and hazelnuts to dill and Imeretian cheese – will help rural families and farmers’ associations ensure that their production is in line with market trends. Small farms, often with few resources and little growth potential, will gain access to valuable information that could lead to new economic opportunities.

To build the market information system, in 2015, hundred data-collectors – the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture – in each region of Georgia were trained to interview sellers at the local markets, gather the accurate prices on each agricultural product on a daily and weekly basis and upload the data to the online database. Now, as the data has amassed, making statistical judgements possible and trends are visible for the last three years, it became public, availing users across the country with the latest price-related information.

“It is just one part of a comprehensive FAO-ENPARD project to provide Georgia’s Ministry of Agriculture with technical assistance that will boost its ability to craft and implement smart rural development policies,” said Lasha Dolidze, FAO-ENPARD project manager.

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.