The Cheese and Tea Exhibition showcasing Georgian traditional, as well as foreign produce was held at Mtatsminda Park on May 1st, 2022. Ten dairies with the Georgian Milk Mark (GMM) - Milkeni, Tsintskaro +, Meskhuri Gemo, Bebo’s Kveli, Suamta, Leanka, Alpuri Javakheti, Dertseli’s Nobati, Naturaluri Rdzis Gemo, Tsezari presented their products at the event organized by Anna Mikadze-Chikvaidze, the Head of the Cheese Producers Guild. Visitors tasted cheese and got to know about the GMM. Butter with spices, a new product by Milkeni, was their favourite.
‘The GMM contributed a lot to make this event happen. I am thankful to them for giving me an opportunity to discover amazing products, like butter with spices. I am glad that the GMM promotes raw milk production’ - Event founder Anna Mikadze-Chikvaidze praised the development of the GMM in her Facebook posts.
Created in 2019, the GMM has twenty dairies currently using the mark. The GMM products are available in Madagoni, Spar, Tserti, Magniti, Smart, Ori Nabiji, Nikora, Zgapari, Fresco, Carrefour, Goodwill, Daily, Billion and Willmart supermarket chains.
A comprehensive online portal www.georgianmilk.ge provides a profile per enterprise allowing consumers to look up the products they are buying using a unique registration number printed on the label.
The Many Secrets of Georgian Honey, an article dedicated to the exceptional Georgian honey making, was published in the online journal Plantings by the World Sensorium Conservancy. The journal covers topics relevant to conservation and the intrinsic values of nature. The article was penned by Braden Bjella, an American culture journalist based in Eastern Europe, who takes readers to Georgian beekeeping journey with the help of the Georgian Beekeepers Union (GBU) and the Jara Beekeepers Association (JBA). As he says, “the question of Georgian honey quality is settled; now, it’s only up to the world to discover it".
On December 20th, the Georgian Beekeepers Union (GBU) hosted an event to celebrate its third anniversary inviting key honey sector stakeholders to Hualing Tbilisi Sea Plaza.
Since 2018, the honey sector has seen huge gains under the auspices of the GBU, which is leading efforts to remove pervasive constraints to growth such as the widespread use of prohibited antibiotics and performing the role of non-governmental national representative of the honey sector. The GBU’s three years of extensive work resulted in increased honey quality, more effective governmental advocacy, better vocational education in beekeeping, including, Jara teaching, available information and trainings for beekeepers, promotion and improved image of Georgian honey at the Apimondia Congress and London Honey Awards, all that paving way for an increase of honey export.
‘There are some major developments in improving honey testing capacity, increasing awareness of Georgian honey, and opening of new export markets. The comprehensive laboratory analysis, before carried abroad, is now available in Georgia, which resulted in decreasing transaction costs.’ – Giorgi Khanishvili, the First Deputy Minister of the Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA).
‘We were able to achieve significant improvements during these three years. We are continuing cooperation with the government and other honey stakeholders to ensure production of safe and quality honey.’ – Aleko Papava, the Executive Director of the GBU.
Photo source: The MEPA
Nena Jara honey, along with other types of Georgian honey, found its place on the Georgian honey corner opened at the SPAR supermarket branch in Tawar Mall, the largest shopping mall in Doha, Qatar. Georgian honey corner will be opened in every branch of the SPAR chain. The process is backed by the Embassy of Georgia to the State of Qatar. The ALCP facilitated the export of Jara honey.
Local influential media AI Raya dedicated a comprehensive article to Georgian honey with a special highlight on Georgian beekeeping characteristics and traditional Jara.
The Qatar market seems promising. The Embassy’s previous facilitation for approval of a VET certificate, an essential requirement for honey export, has contributed to a 255% increase of Georgian honey export to Qatar in 2021 compared to 2020. The same figure saw a 350% boost in 2020.
Photo source: The Embassy of Georgia to the State of Qatar
In November 2021 Jara hives took their place at the Beekeeping Regional Center, BageBee in Tbilisi for demonstration and educational purposes with the help of the Jara Beekeepers Association (JBA). The center is highly motivated to integrate Jara teaching in its beekeeping vocational programme now being developed under the project Modernization of Vocational Education and Training (VET) System Related to Agriculture - Work-based Learning. Last week, the JBA presented Jara honey to a wider audience at the Autumn Beekeeping Fair/Event, organized by the BageBee center, which was also attended by the Georgian Beekeepers Union (GBU) board members. Mutual cooperation between the GBU and the center is ongoing. The executive director of the GBU was invited to give a speech at the event and the director of the center was invited to the GBU Weekly Facebook Live meeting to present the center to the GBU member beekeepers.
Beekeeping Regional Center BageBee opened in Tbilisi in July 2021. The idea is to support the rural/urban connectivity, sustainable agriculture, and the vision of Tbilisi as a Green City.Key principles of the centre are environmental appreciation, sustainable resource use and inclusive growth. The BageBee center was built and equipped by the Czech Development Agency in the framework of the project Sustainable Development of Beekeeping in Georgia with a partnership of People in Need, Georgia, Association Agora and Tbilisi City Hall.
The Journalism Resource Centre (JRC), in partnership with the Society of Women for Rational Development in Azerbaijan (WARD), hosted a study visit of media and educational institution representatives of Azerbaijan.
Agri-journalism students and lecturers at Caucasus International University shared agricultural journalism teaching practices. In Kakheti, they visited the farm of Beka Gonashvili, Head of the Georgian Shepherds Association, farmer, and entrepreneur. They also visited Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking to see their Jara honey and wine production and the dairy Leanka in Dedeplitskaro. The importance of education and information for farmers and producers and their cooperation with agricultural media was emphasized.
Beka Gonashvili emphasized the importance of providing quality information to farmers and producers. He is both a blogger and a farmer, so he is regularly publishing useful agriculture-related posts. The female owner of Leanka dairy talked about how the enterprise is ensuring the quality and how media is playing a significant role in this. At Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking Company particpants saw wine and Jara honey production and their export and how the Georgian Beekeepers Union is advocating the interests of honey sector representatives and supporting the awareness raising of beekeepers, such as through the national information campaign - Do’s and Don’ts of Antibiotic Use. Participants also watched a report about Jara Honey by Al Jazeera and Jara the Movie.
‘We will all together will work well for expansion the teaching of agricultural Journalism in Azerbaijan’ – Natia Kuprashvili, the Head of the JRC.
The Society Women for Rational Development (WARD) in partnership with the JRC is going to prepare a course of agricultural communication based on the study visit and share it with educational institutions in Azerbaijan.
Please see the related links: a textbook of Constructive Agricultural Journalism and video lessons added to this textbook.
Jara took an honorable place in the Tourism Alphabet of Ajara, a new campaign implemented by the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Ajara AR. The idea is to link all 33 letters of the Georgian alphabet with attractions, locations, food, and activities worth visiting during the whole year. Jara was selected for the letter J.
Letter J will take tourists to Medzibna Village, Keda, where tourists will feel immersed with Jara hives hidden in nature.
'Jara honey is a unique product, it adds cultural value to our region, so it should be a well-packaged tourism product. So far, nothing has been done by the Department of Tourism to promote Jara, travel agencies and guides do not know much about the product, so linking J with Jara will be the first step toward to Jara promotion and awareness raise from our side' -Tinatin Zoidze, chairwoman of the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Ajara.
To boost the promotion, the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Ajara also developed a short video about Jara that will be advertised through their Facebook pageVisit Batumi, tourism information centers and media channels.
