The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA) approved a decree that will frame the work of Georgian private nurseries for the production of certified planting materials in 2024. This work was supported by the EU under the EU4Business Programme with FAO’s technical assistance.

As of 2024, nurseries will be required to comply with the EU standards of European Conformitas Agraria Communitatis (CAC), classification system, in order to produce and sell saplings in line with the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. The new decree defines accreditation requirements for the nurseries that will regulate the conditions for production and marketing of plants and plant materials. The decree covers two aspects needed to implement the certification system - quality assurance procedures during the plant material production and phytosanitary procedures and controls of the material.

“With EU and FAO support we approved the decree that will allow private nurseries to comply with the minimum standards for the commercialisation of certified saplings in Georgia. This another step will bring the Georgian private sector closer to the standards of the European Union” stated Giorgi Khanisvhili, First Deputy Minister of MEPA

“The production of safe, quality and traceable saplings is essential for the development of the agriculture sector in Georgia, and especially for the wine, fruit and nuts sectors. Under this project, EU and FAO are providing technical support to private nurseries for them to be able to meet these new standards. This is the first step for a certified local production of saplings that will also open export opportunities”, stated Javier Sanz Alvarez, FAO Programme Coordinator.

The support is provided under the EU Innovative Action for Private Sector Competitiveness in Georgia Joint Programme. The EU-funded 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.