EastFruit analysts have reviewed investments in new farms in Georgia. Official data reveals that blueberries remain the major culture when starting an agricultural business.
Investments in perennial gardens have doubled in 2022 compared to the average annual investments in 2015-2022. Total investments in 2022 constituted GEL64 million ($22 million), and almost half of this amount was co-financed by the Gardens component of the Georgian governmental program Plant the Future. The program aims to modernize local agriculture and boost local production by providing financial incentives to Georgian farmers.
The most popular cultures to invest in in 2022 were blueberries, almonds, olives, laurels, and apples.
The top five most popular investments took up 91% of the total investments in new farms. Out of these investments through 2022 26% came to blueberries, 19% to almonds, 18% to olives, 15% to laurel, and 13% to apples.
The investments in 2022 were significantly higher than the average investment of 2015-2022 for each of these cultures. In these regards, the investments in apple gardens were 81% higher in 2022 compared to the average of 2015-2022. The investments in 2022 in all other top cultures over the eight-year average were higher by at least 115%.
The governmental program’s forecasts about the farmers’ revenues have also been reported.
Farmers’ revenues from the farms established under the governmental program since 2015 are expected to grow for all produce groups. Berries group which, of course, is dominated by blueberries is thought to generate a revenue of $10 million in 2023. This is below the revenue of nuts – $19 million and pome fruit – $17 million, but in four years, berries are forecasted to generate the most annual income – $62 million, East-Fruit reports.
