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

print

share

Tengiz Nasaridze: " More than 44,000 hectares of hazelnut orchards have been registered under the state program. Farmers received state support for over 20 million GEL.

The Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. Tengiz Nasaridze, spoke about the results of the state project supporting hazelnut producers.

According to the Deputy Minister, more than 44,000 hectares of hazelnut orchards have been registered under the state program. Farmers got governmental support, totaling more than 20 million GEL.

The crop quantity/quality is increased due to adequate handling, maintenance, and care during harvest.

"hazelnuts are a priority crop for our country. Therefore,  several targeted programs are being implemented directly to assist farmers. The state program was launched last year, which provided targeted support of 500 GEL to all farmers who planted hazelnut orchards on up to three hectares of land plots, calculated per hectare.

Farmers could acquire necessary techniques for cultivating and caring for hazelnuts with this amount in specialist stores, which was a crucial assistance from the government. This quantity is sufficient for the hazelnut crop. Like other crops, hazelnuts need proper maintenance to ensure harvest quality and productivity.

The results are already visible: this year's crop is notable for its quality and production, as we shall all see. The assistance the government provided directly to the hazelnut farmers produced results. Given this support, we expect an excellent harvest.

Turning any topic into a political aspect is not new. We reiterate that it is inappropriate to follow certain types of speculations. We have a successful project which provided unprecedented support to the fruit-growing industry. Farmers had the opportunity to purchase appropriate tools for the maintenance and cultivation of hazelnuts, which most of them used and obtained more crops than in previous years. I would emphasize that there is no problem with selling quality hazelnuts" - Mr. Tengiz Nasaridze.