FAO brought together the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) implementing partners for the 12^th  ENPARD stakeholders’ meeting to outline the new directions for rural development in Georgia and other activities under the second phase of ENPARD.

Mr. Nodar Kereselidze, the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture, summarized the achievements reached under ENPARD I and reported on the ongoing activities of ENPARD II. He highlighted the improvements made by the Ministry of Agriculture in respect of the fulfilments of the commitments agreed with the European Union. Mr. Kereselidze also stressed the importance of elaborating the new visions and new types of programmes for rural development.

Ms. Cristina Casella, Agriculture attaché at the EU Delegation to Georgia, reiterated the strong commitment of the EU under ENPARD, in the support provided to strengthen cooperatives and rural development in Georgia.

The Coordination and Support Officer for FAO-ENPARD Projects in Georgia, Javier Sanz Alvarez, explained the main areas of work for FAO under ENPARD II in technical assistance to the MoA: Statistics, Extension, Value Chain Development and Climate Smart Agriculture.

There was an open discussion focused on Value Chain Development, where ENPARD stakeholders shared their opinions on the strategies, successes and challenges of developing value chains under the work they implement supporting cooperatives and rural development LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) in the field.

Finally, ENPARD stakeholders (MercyCorps, Care, PiN, Oxfam, RDFG, Heks-Eper and GIPA) updated the audience on the advances in their respective projects for cooperative development as well as Rural Development LEADER projects. The meeting also counted on the presence of USAID, SDC and ADA representatives that also briefed on their activities in support to the Agriculture and Rural Development Sectors.