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EU and UNDP consultants unveiled a plan for institutional reforms of rural development policy of Georgia in frames of the ENPARD programme
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) is undertaking a series of changes to enhance organizational effectiveness in direct alignment with the national rural development policy objectives and EU approximation process, which is of utmost importance for Georgia’s full integration process with the European Union.
“The EU has been Georgia’s strongest partner in terms of technical and financial support. Based on EU recommendations, the typical feature of the planned changes is that it will affect every organizational dimension of responsible departments/units as well as work processes in relation to planning and implementation of the Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy and state support programmes. It cuts across sectors and fields and is part of Georgia’s overall strategic vision “More Europe in Georgia and More Georgia in Europe”, therefore, we stay consistent in our actions to strengthen relevant institutions and become better prepared for more cooperation with the EU,” Mr Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture stated.
Through joint efforts of the European Union, UNDP, PricewaterhouseCoopers Georgia and European consultants, Georgia will join other European countries in setting up a managing authority and paying agency for rural development as well developing a national training mechanism.
In the course of the workshop, international experts, Humphrey Abbott and Brigitte Melmuer - Larcher discussed the European model of rural development policy management systems. Humphrey Abbott familiarized attendees with the structure of the Rural Development Agency and the structure of the European Model Paying Agency and their respective approaches.
The European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) has been implemented in Georgia since 2013 and will commence in 2022, with a total budget of €179.5 million. More information on ENPARD is available at: www.enpard.ge