Up to 700 farmers, agronomists and extension specialists participated in the Pruning Festival organized by EU and FAO, under the EU4Business programme. To increase the productivity and quality of fruit trees and grape vines, FAO experts, both local and international, answered the basic questions through field demonstrations - what to prune, when to prune, how to prune and why to prune.

The series of training in pruning were conducted in various orchards and vineyards in Shida Kartli, Mtskheta Mtianeti and Kakheti. Pruning experts combined theoretical and practical sessions and provided comprehensive training,  focusing on pruning of some of the most crucial farming cultures in Georgia: hazelnut, walnut, peach, apple, and grape vines. 

“The training fully met our expectations, I knew we would get professional advice,’’ remarked Simon Ruadze, a farmer from Gurjaani municipality, who attended the festival. ‘’This was a very important and necessary training for me and other farmers too in our village. I will try to consider all the received advice,’’ Ruadze noted.

Apart from the farmers, Georgian agronomists and extension specialists from the  Information and Consulting Centers of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia also took part in the training. The participants stressed the importance of having the opportunity to obtain knowledge of innovative agricultural practices and requested support for further learning practices in this area.

“To do a correct pruning is one of the critical steps to be able to have a healthy fruit orchard that will allow you to have a good harvest in terms of quantity and quality. Unfortunately, many farmers don’t prune well, leading to losses in harvest, but can also damage the health of the trees and grape vines. With this pruning festival, we reached a lot of farmers, practitioners and investors, and we together reviewed the main mistakes that are often made and how to have a correct pruning done on time,” Javier Sanz Alvarez, EU-FAO Programme Coordinator stated. 

The pruning festival was organized within the framework of the EU-funded project “EU Innovative Action for Private Sector Competitiveness in Georgia (EU IPSC)”, in collaboration with the Georgian Seed and Sapling Association (GEOSSA), The Scientific Research Center (SRCA) and the Hazelnut Growers Association. 

EU Innovative Action for Private Sector Competitiveness in Georgia Joint Programme, implemented by FAO and other UN agencies (UNDP, IOM, UNIDO), was launched in 2018. The main goal of the Programme is to enhance entrepreneurship and business sophistication by strengthening the capacities of Georgian government and local entities to develop and operate clusters and support companies directly with strategic investments.