Photo: FAO/Temur Bartava

12 March 2023, Zugdidi – Together with its partners, FAO held the mid-term event of the project that supports women dairy producers in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region at the Garden Palace Hotel in Zugdidi. This project, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), is implemented by FAO, in partnership with UN Women. The aim of the mid-term event was to present the interim results of the project, while supporting women beneficiaries from the region to show their products to a wider public, including the HORECA sector.

The event was hosted by Mamuka Tsotseria, Mayor of Zugdidi, who welcomed the participants.

Afterwards, 12 women beneficiaries of the project showcased Georgian and European aged cheese varieties, several of them enriched with spices, following the tradition in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The women dairy farmers also took part in a competition. Their dairy products were assessed by a panel of judges composed of SDC, FAO and HORECA sector representatives. As a result three winners were selected and awarded with a certificate by the panel of judges. 

Importantly, the 12 participants started dialogues about possible partnerships with the HORECA sector, to sell their dairy products. 

Additionally, the FAO and UN Women team members presented the interim project results, highlighting the impact achieved in the region during the last 2 years. They elaborated on the support that has been provided to women farmers in the region and the effects that it has had on the beneficiaries of the SDC supported project.

“SDC, FAO and UN Women have joined forces to promote the rich cultural and agricultural heritage in dairy production, these women have reimagined not only Georgian but also European cheese varieties. It is impressive to see how smallholder women producers, often with less than five cows, can produce cheese of such high quality and improve the food safety standards of their production in such a short period of time. We are all very proud to have contributed to this success, and we want more. Today we are showing these wonderful cheese varieties to the public and supporting the beneficiaries to start marketing linkages with buyers, consolidating the work done and contributing to economic empowerment of over 400 women in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti”, – stated Javier Sanz Alvarez, FAO Programme Coordinator.

So far, more than 400 women farmers have been trained in cheese production through 20 Farmer Field Schools throughout Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The Farmer Field Schools, gives women the opportunity of learning from 20 selected leader farmers, through demonstration and hands on experimentation, under the technical supervision of FAO veterinarians and food technologists.

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Funded by the SDC and implemented by FAO and UN Women, the “Fostering economic empowerment of women farmers by supporting homemade dairy production through the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) approach” project started in October 2020 and will be operational until 30 September 2024.