Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

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The Government launches a new program to promote the production of hazelnuts

At the end of the Government session, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. Otar Shamugia briefed media representatives on the new hazelnut program.

" One of the priorities of the Government is to provide support for the development of the agricultural sector in the country. For years, we have been implementing a number of important projects in this direction," the Minister noted.
As stated by Mr. Shamugia, in 2017, after the spread of the Asian stink bug, the hazelnut crop faced some problems, which were reflected both in the yield and quality of hazelnuts. The exports significantly decreased as well. The large-scale measures taken by the state against the Asian stink bug have yielded results. It should be mentioned, that pest treatment activities continue to this day.

" Since 2019, we have gradually increased the yield and export.  In 2021, export earnings from hazelnut crops exceeded USD 115 million, however, in 2022, due to various factors, mainly climatic conditions, farmers could not carry out crop maintenance measures properly, which ultimately decreased the yield and the quality; As a result of the decrease in export value and demand,  farmers were not able to get a decent income. Therefore, it is important to support our farmers and enable them to carry out all the necessary measures in spring to get a quality harvest next year.

Under the decision of the Government, we will provide support to the sector, all individuals who own/use an area of 0.2-3 hectares will receive GEL 500 per hectare, and farmers will receive the corresponding points in their agro credit cards to purchase the various goods to take care and protect their hazelnut crop, thus we will contribute to the improvement of the quantity and quality of the hazelnut yield in the country," the Minister stated.

According to Mr. Shamugia, those farmers who possess more than three hectares of land area devoted to hazelnut cultivation will also receive benefits and will be given the opportunity to take advantage of preferential agro-credit for their working capital.

"We will finance about 8 percent of the loan to farmers. We believe,  that respective measures will significantly contribute to obtaining a harvest of high-quality products. We shall proceed as follows: we will create a hazelnut cadastre with the active involvement of our respective services and local municipalities; We will collect data, whereupon we will get information on a legal entity or individual possessing the hazelnut orchards, including the size of the orchards. We will have information on the hazelnut varieties as well, which will enable us to make an analysis and take appropriate measures to support the sector", said the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.