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Levan Davitashvili summed up the activities undertaken by the Ministry in 2019
The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili provided Prime Minister of Georgia, Government, Diplomatic Corps, Sector Associations and representatives of Media with 2019 results of the activities implemented by the Ministry.
“Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture is focused on the effective implementation of the state policy, considering development of two key areas - environmental protection and rural development. We can boldly say, that we have made tangible progress in both directions, despite difficult legacy and many unforeseen challenges ”the Minister said.
According to the Minister, the production of Georgian products has been increased due to the proper state agricultural policy implemented in the field.
“ An increasing number of new Georgian branded products are emerging on the shelves each day, which indicates an irreversible process of import substitution. Georgia traditionally was a producer of agri-food products. We started gradually returning this status. Despite the growing consumption, which is driven by the increasing number of tourist arrivals, the trade deficit in agri-food products is steadily decreasing each year. The gap between imports and exports is fluctuating from 900 million to $ 350 million, which means that we have been able to significantly increase our production ”the Minister said.
Levan Davitashvili assessed the activities carried out by the Ministry in the field of environment as an important step forward and noted, that the stage of elaborating the basic legislative bases will be completed soon. Environmental legislation will be in line with the European legislation.
“ Applying the principle of sustainable development will enable us to develop the economy by minimizing environmental damage. At present, in the context of extended obligations, producers have already taken the responsibility to reduce environmental damage. Implementation of international standards in production, adequate control system and constant increase of producer responsibility - this is the state policy that should guarantee the protection of the environment in the country ”said Levan Davitashvili.
At the end of the event, the Minister discussed the priority issues identified in the fields of environmental protection and agriculture by 2020.
The stock video footage about state-owned enterprises, upgraded irrigation facilities, international standard laboratories, research demonstration plots were provided at the event.