Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia met with farmers of the Shida Kartli region of Georgia today, talked about the challenges the agriculture sector faces and introduced the government's plans to help the sector.
akharia said that agriculture is an industry that needs help financially, and it is the second field after tourism to receive assistance from the government.
“The budget for assisting agriculture is about 300 million GEL. I understand that even more is needed, but the task of the responsible government is very simple, to fairly distribute resources available to a small country with a weak economy to all who need it. Today, this is the minimum we can do, and it should give us all the opportunity to save ourselves, keep working, and prepare for better times to come", Gakharia said.
As part of the government's anti-crisis plan for the agriculture sector of Georgia, 42,000 farmers will be exempt from paying irrigation taxes in 2020. Farmers that want to purchase special agricultural equipment, erect greenhouses or irrigation systems can apply to receive up to 50% financing from the state.
In addition, all farmers will receive 150 liters of diesel fuel per hectare in 2020 at a cost of GEL 1 less compared to the market price. As of May 22, over 5,000 farmers have already benefited from the government’s agro-diesel programme.
Farmers which have land plots between 0.25 to 10 hectares will receive 200 GEL for each hectare. About 200,000 farmers will receive these grants.
Gakharia said that it is not easy but Georgia needs to industrialise the agricultural sector and increase productivity.
