The Feasibility Study for the Animal Movement Rout and animal disease notification and control, two key topics were discussed on the 4th advisory committee on the 29th of March. At the beginning of the meeting the Alliances KK Programme Director Ms. Helen Bradbury provided a brief presentation concerning the interventions of the programme.
Rati Mekvabishvili – the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture provided the latest updates on the Feasibility Study of The Animal Movement Route. As Mr Rati announced they are planning to hold a presentation on the conducted study and all interested stakeholders are welcome to attend it by the end of April. The Alliances KK Programme Director suggested the MOA arranging not just a presentation, but a participatory workshop, where stakeholders will have opportunity to voice their views and provide information for input into the feasibility study.
One of the main topics at the committee meeting was animal disease control issue; the newly appointed Head of the NFA Regional Division Mirangula Liparteliani presented latest activities of the NFA in this direction.
‘The NFA has launched the brucellosis program that aims to estimate and study general situation for the disease. After one week, Anthrax vaccinations will commence in sites of historical outbreaks under the state program of the free vaccination. In the nearest future, in each municipality minimum one slaughterhouse will be operated. Process has already started, for instance recently a new slaughterhouse was opened in Tsalka municipality. Currently the NFA is starting organizing community level vet offices.’-said Mr Mirandula Liparteliani.
The committee will continue to be a forum for the discussions facilitating interaction and information exchange between relevant national, regional and local stakeholders form the public and private sectors.
From the ISET Economist news (http://www.iset.ge/news/?s=survival&lang=en)
By Nino Mosiashvili
The conclusion of the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union was euphorically acclaimed by Georgian media as well as political and economic decision makers. Part of the AA is the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). The DCFTA is intended to liberalize trade between Georgia and the EU by lowering tariffs and reducing non-tariff barriers. For agriculture, the most relevant changes relate to food safety (bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection, and labeling) as well as animal and plant health (phytosanitation). For the manufacturing sector, the removal of so-called “technical barriers to trade” is similarly important, with the goal being to prevent the usage of technical standards as a means to protect domestic markets from foreign competition. “If regulations are set arbitrarily, they could be used as an excuse for protectionism”, states the World Trade Organization on its homepage.
Livestock transhumance will no longer disturb Tsintskaro Village population in Tetritskaro Municipality. The local Municipal DRR Working Group initiated a new infrastructure project which will solve the problems related to the seasonal transhumance in this particular village.
From the ISET Economist news (http://www.iset.ge/news/?p=3311)
By Eric Livny
(Summary of a debate hosted by ISET as part of SDC-supported Inclusive Growth Dialog series.)
There are many reasons to love the concept of farmer cooperation (and cooperation more generally). To begin with, there is a great aesthetic value in seeing people coming together, sharing resources and helping each other. After all, instinctive collectivism was the basic condition of human existence from time immemorial. But, there are also powerful economic reasons for farmer cooperation.
The Road – a beautifully shot documentary capturing the reality and dichotomies of the people who use the ancient transhumance route; the lifeline of livestock in Georgia
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure (MRDI) and the Swiss Development Cooperation project the Mercy Corps Georgia implemented, Alliances Lesser Caucasus Programme (ALCP) in Kvemo Kartli, The aim of the memorandum is to support the ongoing outreach at local government level of practical implementation of the 2010 Georgian Gender Equality Law which will greatly aid in the general development of rural Georgian municipalities.
From the ISET Economist news (http://www.iset.ge/news/?p=3056)
By Tim Stewart
As Georgia embarks on an ambitious program to develop farmer organizations, it is worth considering both the positive and negative lessons from the experience of similar initiatives, both in Georgia and elsewhere in the developing/transition context. The piece by Tim Stewart, originally published on www.springfieldcentre.com, identifies some of the main reasons for the failure of start-up farmer organizations. The challenge for Georgia is to learn from these mistakes in planning and implementation, and ensure improved coordination among the many cooks involved (the newly created Agency for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives, the Ministry of Agriculture, international donors, NGOs, and farmer associations).
