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The First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Giorgi Khanishvili attended the meeting of Georgian Rural Development Network (GRDN)
More than fifty representatives of Georgian Government, civil society, private sector and international organizations discussed the contribution of public networks in rural development and EU and Georgian practices in this field.
“The public network will make a significant contribution to rural development. The Government of Georgia has taken the first steps to create a platform, to bring together different actors to share information, increase awareness and improve implementation of rural policies.”said Giorgi Khanishvili, First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.
The participants discussed the prospects of public-private partnerships in promoting rural development in Georgia and the role of young people in growing successful rural businesses that can create income opportunities beyond agriculture. They also focused on how the national Rural Development Network (GRDN) can facilitate and enhance rural development by creating a coalition of stakeholders and supporters.
“Rural development networking is the best way to build collaboration and innovation that will serve rural residents everywhere‘’ said Ave Bremse, Representative of the Estonian Rural Network Department, invited to the GRDN meeting as a guest speaker.
Rural development networks are common practice in the EU and operate in all European countries. Georgian Rural Development Network (GRDN) follows successful examples of the similar networks operating in Estonia and Finland. It is an online platform, administered by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.
The purpose of the network is to exchange information and knowledge between all rural development policy stakeholders and stakeholders - public and private sector, civil society and community groups.
The event was organized under the auspices of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in cooperation with the Civil Development Agency (CiDA) and within the frame of the EU-funded Program (ENPARD).
The EU-funded ENPARD programme has been implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 179.5 million. Its main goal is to provide economic opportunities in rural area and reduce poverty in Georgia. More information on ENPARD is available at: www.enpard.ge.