Last week, the deputy minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Giorgi Khanishvili spoke about the government’s plans to support agriculture in 2023. Particularly about the programs of Preferential Agrocredit, Hazelnut Production Assistance, and Plant the Future, which will finance the agricultural sector in 2023.

The preferential agro credit program has been implemented in Georgia since 2013 and involves subsidizing loan interest rates issued by commercial banks to farmers. In 2023, the budget of the program has increased to 200 million GEL ($76 126 675). In addition, at the end of 2022, the state representatives announced the subsidy of digital technologies specifically, agridrones and weather stations within the program. 

In 2023, the implementation of the Plant the Future program, which subsidizes the planting of perennial orchards, will continue. According to Khanishvili, up to 20 000 hectares of perennial orchards have been planted within the program so far, and it is planned to subsidize up to 4 000 hectares of new orchards in 2023. 

The Hazelnut Production Assistance program started in 2022, and currently, the registration of hazelnut orchards throughout the country is underway. The state will pay registered farmers a one-time subsidy of 500 GEL per hectare, which will be used to spray orchards. The aim of the program is to stimulate farmers to continue tending their hazelnut orchards despite last year’s unsuccessful season. According to Khanishvili, more than 37 000 hectares of hazelnut orchards have already been registered within the program. 

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com