Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) under the EU-supported European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) arranged the field day at the potato farm in Bolnisi municipality for potato farmers, Akalkalaki Farmers’ Information-Consultation Center (ICC) staff, and Interns from the Agrarian University. The participants had an opportunity to visit 60 ha potato fields owned by Mziani Mosavali LLC which is part of the Wellington group – a large-scale potato processor producing the chips under “FRIXX” brand name.

The participants of the field day acquired the information about the potato production cycle, including land preparation, planting, irrigation, crop protection, harvesting and post-harvest handling. They also got acquainted with the equipment and machinery utilized in the process.

The event was held in support to the agricultural extension services which is one of the components of the FAO-ENPARD project which supports the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA) in the implementation of the National Strategy for Agricultural Extension 2018-2019. The project intends to improve the competitiveness of the agriculture sector in Georgia by delivering quality advising services to the farmers and upgrading the capacities of the existing Information and Consultation Centers (ICC) throughout Georgia, turning them into a more demand-driven platform to provide technical advice to farmers. To achieve the goal, FAO organizes farmer field schools, theoretical and practical training activities for lead farmers, ICCs and interns from Agrarian University. Moreover, FAO started arranging various types of demonstration plots of potatoes, wheat, maize, cucumber, eggplant and raspberries, focusing on the municipalities of Dedoplistskaro, Akhalkalaki, Khazbegi and Lagodekhi.

The EU is supporting agriculture and rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 179.5 million, the main goal of ENPARD is to reduce rural poverty in Georgia. The first phase of ENPARD in Georgia focused on developing the potential of agriculture. The second and third phases of ENPARD focus on creating economic opportunities for rural population that go beyond agricultural activities. More information on ENPARD is available at: www.enpard.ge