The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) facilitated a study visit to Latvia for representatives from the Association of Milk Producers of Georgia, the Association of Dairy Product Producers, and representatives of the Dairy industry. The aim of the visit was to review the EU approaches to strengthening public-private cooperation in the dairy sector; the distribution of roles and responsibilities between the industry and state stakeholders, as well as to gain insights into the Latvian strategies for addressing the common industry challenges.

In collaboration with the Food Safety Service of Latvia, the study tour included a comprehensive list of meetings and site visits, as well as discussions with state competent authorities and regulatory bodies overseeing food safety and the dairy industry.

The discussion with the chairman of the Latvian Dairy Association, as well as interactions with milk producers, raw milk collectors and dairy product processors, were instrumental in examining Latvia's innovative approaches, and in formulating the engagement plans of the organizations representing Georgia's dairy industry.

Overall, the lessons learned are important considering the insight on ways how Georgia could improve the implementation of its food safety legislations, in particular prevention of milk buyout by unapproved business operators, and introduction of regular raw milk quality and safety controls.

The study visit was implemented through FAO’s project for Technical Assistance to the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) of the National Food Agency. NAITS is implemented with the financial assistance from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).