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Levan Davitashvili: " Srengthening private sector and developing competitive agricultural sector which will be based on the agricultural co-operation is of utmost importance for us
At the joint sitting of the parliamentary committee, the candidate for the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili has been focused on the agricultural development projects implemented in the country.
The Minister brought forward Rural Development Strategy, whereby, outlining main directions of the government program, he noted, that aforementioned startegy is in full compliance with the economic policy embracing following fields, namely, producing more Georgian products and expanding production, increasing self-sufficiency and export potential.
“We see that increasing number of Georgian brands and products are emerging on the market, proving that we are heading in the right direction. However, due to the proper policy, it also referres to a decline in a negative balance of trade in the agro-food sector, reflecting a decrease of USD 753 million to USD 394 million in 2012-2018. We aim to become a net exporter of agri-food products and one of the major contributors in exports when government programs are implemented in the country.
Since 2004, the number of employees in the agricultural sector has decreased by approximately 200 000, although, agricultural productivity was increased and almost doubled in the corresponding period. However, the figure is even higher in the added value created in the production of food and beverages, as added value is the basis of primary agricultural production.
As the Ministerial candidate pointed out, one of the major goals of the Ministry is to strengthen the private sector. The development of competitive agriculture is based on the cooperation.
“The main executive of our policy is the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency. This is a new agency, which takes responsibility for agricultural co-operation, implements sectoral programs and provides knowledge and information to the population. We expect, that this service will eventually receive European accreditation and our farmers will receive financing from state budget and support from international projects and donor organizations.
We will be provided with an opportunity to have an access to international funds, which will allow us to increase financial resources to support our farmers and entrepreneurs living in rural areas ” said the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.
In his speech, Levan Davitashvili noted, that preferential agro-credit program developed by the Ministry aims to increase access to financial resources.
“Since Georgian Dream coalition came to power, they promised the agriculture to be a priority and cheap money to come into the field. The preferential agro-credit program provides access to cheap financial resources. Since 2013, more than 36,000 units of preferential agro-credits totaling more than GEL 2 billion have been issued, and state co-financing of this loan amounted to interest rate of GEL 271 million.
The opponents may have questions with reference to the expenses of government as well as the outcomes of the projects. I would like to point out, that results of the implemented programs have been thouroughly examined and analyzed, which revealed, that taxes paid by these enterprises exceed the expenses incurred by the state ”Levan Davitashvili said.
It is noteworthy, that apart from the agri-food sector, the Ministry provides funding in the form of grants in other areas of the agricultural sector as well. Moreover, special attention is paid to retraining courses for farmers, which set focus on the sharing of knowledge to provide farmers with the information they are in urgent need.
“It should be noted, that until 2012, there were no regional offices of the Ministry throughout Georgia. Today, we can say that information and consulting services operate in all municipalities. As a result, 43,000 farmers were provided with consultations in the last two years,. The Ministry is actively working on improving and expanding the service to have a competent agronomist and relevant specialist in each villages ”said Levan Davitashvili.