More than 30 field training sessions for up to 200 farmers in four different communities of Georgia have been conducted by FAO and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC). As InterPressNews was informed, FAO agronomists focused on delivering best agricultural knowledge to strengthen the capacities of the farmers.

The training sessions conducted from August to November used different teaching approaches, focusing on the practical field exercises and activities, observations and discussions. To create perfect environment for hands-on teaching, demonstration plots of tomato, sweet pepper, haricot, wine grapes and beekeeping were established and used as the training sites. While agricultural innovation was one of the most important points of focus of the sessions, participants at the demo plots were able to observe already established climate-smart agriculture methods such as drip irrigation, mulching, Integrated Pest Management approaches, etc. A variety of different topics were discussed from soil, crop, water and pest management, to establishing links with the relevant agricultural markets.

The village of Doesi in the Kaspi municipality has been chosen to introduce new approaches in the agricultural production of tomatoes and sweet pepper. Over the course of the training programme, FAO agronomists thoroughly covered all the stages of vegetable production, starting from the soil preparation and water management, up to harvesting, post-harvest storage, and subsequent transportation.

"I was able to reduce the cost of the production on my tomato plot by up to 30% thanks to the FAO’s support with the drip irrigation and pest management solutions", - says Giorgi Turashvili, the owner of the demo plot in the Doesi community and participant of the trainings.

The same approach was used in trainings conducted at the haricot demonstration plot in the Plevi village of the Khasuri municipality. Due to the use of efficient and effective agricultural practices such as careful selection of the seeds, soil analysis and proper fertilizations, the plants not only blossomed, but more and higher quality crops.

FAO agronomists conducted trainings in wine grape production, in the village of Tvishi in the Tsageri municipality. Along with the other topics, an extensive course covered Integrated Pest Management, which is particularly important as only timely and proactive measures against the pests can protect the unique variety of grapes of Tvishi's microclimate zone.

The plot of the only female winemaker in the village of, Miranda Chkhetiani, was selected as the training location.

"My vineyard has been selected as the demonstration plot for the training sessions, which allowed many people from our community to learn how to better deal with vine pests and diseases, among many other things. The FAO support allowed me to save money and increase my own production", - Chketiani said.

Beekeepers from the Oni municipality could also expand their knowledge of this traditional pursuit for the Racha region. In close collaboration with the Agrarian Movement in Georgia, FAO conducted a beekeeping and honey production training course for the local producers. The course started with the basics of bee biology and life cycles, and covered topics all the way up to honey extraction and preparation of the product for the agricultural markets.

With the completion of the interactive trainings conducted in line with national COVID-19 regulations for this season, FAO specialists have already started planning the next year. The upcoming hands-on trainings will actively involve again local farmers as well as the extension specialists from the Farmers’ Information and Consulting Centers of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.

"The learning process cannot stop. It is very important to learn and introduce modern agricultural production methods. Modern approaches to agriculture are not only climate-smart and lead to greater sustainability in agriculture, but also allow farmers to reduce the cost of production while increasing the quality of produce, which is highly relevant now amid the COVID-19 pandemic", - stated Beka Dzadzamia, FAO-ADC project manager.

The Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) is funding a four-year Rural and Agricultural Development project in Georgia implemented by FAO with a total budget of two million EUR. The project’s activities are expected to support Georgia’s agricultural producers become more competitive, while at the same time reduce agriculture’s contribution to climate change.

source: IPN