Georgian specialists from the State Laboratory of Agriculture (SLA) and the Scientific Research Center of Agriculture (SRCA) were trained in several agricultural science institutions of Bordeaux, France. The study tour was organized by EU and FAO under the EU Innovative Action for Private Sector Competitiveness in Georgia, a project implemented under the EU4Business Programme.

Georgia has already announced the introduction of mandatory seedling certification in 2024. This decision corresponds to the goal of the visit - to support the professional development of Georgian civil servants, by providing access to the best expertise in the field of grapevine disease control and inspection. The gained knowledge is aimed to raise the capacities of the Georgian authorities to inspect and control the quality of the saplings produced in Georgian nurseries and raise their ability to produce certified quality planting materials in grapevines, in terms of genetic purity as well as phytosanitary status.

The trainers, mobilized to deliver the learning sessions to the study tour participants, are scientists from the Environment and Agronomy Division, and the Plant Biology and Breeding Division of France's National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, teachers and scientists from the Bordeaux Sciences Agro and researchers from the University of Bordeaux.

“Sharing the methods of identifying viruses from specialists with many years of experience is very valuable. We learned about new techniques for sampling and preparing the sample material for identification, as well, as the method of sampling the soil for virus transferring nematodes” – said Eter Gvritishvili, Head of Plant Pest Diagnostic Department of SLA, one of the participants in the study visit.

“The training topics combined multiple important disciplines. For example, the acquired knowledge regarding the detection and control of grapevine phytoplasma disease, is crucial for the production of healthy vines and will be very beneficial not only in the laboratory, but also for the viniculture in general, as well as for the upcoming certification process” – stated another participant of the tour, Tekle Zakalashvili, Acting Head of the Research Division of Plant Microclonal Propagation and Virus Free Planting Materials of SRCA.

Georgian nurseries of grapevines have difficulties to preserve endemic mother collections in good phytosanitary status. The selling of locally produced non-verified grapevine saplings is a significant issue for the development of the sector.

“The seedling production in Georgia is yet to satisfy the demand of the market and maintain proper standards of the product. Georgian winegrowers even have to resort to the import of saplings of Georgian grapevines varieties from Europe. Considering this, FAO and EU are jointly supporting Georgian authorities to better control the quality of the saplings produced and sold locally,” said Javier Sanz Alvarez, EU-FAO Programme Coordinator.

EU Innovative Action for Private Sector Competitiveness in Georgia is a joint initiative of the European Union and four UN Agencies, which was launched in 2019 with a budget of EUR 5 million. The project aims at enhancing entrepreneurship and business sophistication by strengthening the capacities of government and local entities to develop and operate clusters and supporting companies directly with strategic investments and better connections to diaspora groups, while also demonstrating the effectiveness of these strategies to businesses.