Standing on a small, wooden watchtower in the middle of the Alazani Valley, surrounded by the Caucasus Mountains on one side and endless fields on the other, Shota Begiashvili recalls the nights he has spent here alone, ever since he was 10, “watching the cows.’’

Growing up as a farmer’s son, Shota began his farmer’s life early. He loved to walk behind the cattle into the pastures of Alazani Valley in Kakheti, eastern Georgia.

Now a 31-year-old, Begiashvili is himself a successful farmer.

In the last three years, his cattle grew more than five times, and its milk production increased from 500 litres to 1.5 tons a day. He trades dairy to one of Georgia’s largest dairy product companies, and he is planning on more, particularly since the arrival of a recently purchased brand-new milking parlour facility.

“Few years ago, I couldn’t dream of this, that I would be able to expand my farm so much, or afford all this new technology,” Shota says. “But I found out about project financing opportunities and cattle registration, and from there my farm began to develop.”

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