FAO, on the request of the National Food Agency (NFA) of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia, has launched a one-year Technical Cooperation Programme Facility (TCPF) to conduct a Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) in Georgia.

The NFA is the key institution for plant protection in Georgia. It holds the authority to supervise, monitor and control the safety and quality of food/feed, as well as any sanitary-hygienic, veterinary, plant protection and agrochemical measures in the country. During the TCPF project, the National Food Agency and other stakeholders will identify gaps in the phytosanitary system, analyse phytosanitary legislation and learn how an efficient system should be designed and operated.

“Within the project, a national phytosanitary capacity development strategy shall be prepared based on the assessment using the IPPC PCE tool. Also, phytosanitary legislation shall be reviewed and legal recommendations provided,” said Orlando Sosa, implementation officer of the FAO’s Implementation Facilitation Unit for the International Plant Protection Convention.

On June 14-16, FAO and the NFA held a workshop on the application of the PCE modules and gap identification.  Zurab Chekurashvili, the head of the National Food Agency of Georgia, met a group of FAO experts to plan future activities and discuss the TCPF implementation process.

Chekurashvili emphasized that the TCPF will identify phytosanitary achievements and challenges in Georgia, resulting in the development of a strategic plan for phytosanitary capacity development and the creation of an efficient phytosanitary control system.

The Georgian plant health system needs to improve its ability to design and implement efficient policies, regulations and phytosanitary procedures. These measures will protect Georgia from the spread of pests, leading to greater agricultural productivity as well as an increase in the trustworthiness of Georgian agricultural products for international trade partners.