News
International Rural Development Conference held in Tbilisi
On 8 April 2019, with the participation of leading experts and policy-makers from Georgia and European Union (EU) member states, the international conference “Rural Development Policy 2020+. Translating European practice into Georgian reality” was held in Tbilisi. The organizer and host of the Rural Development Conference is the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. The event is supported by the European Union (EU) in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The event was opened by the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili. Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia addressed the participants.
‘’Government of Georgia has developed the first National Rural Development Strategy (2017-2020) and started to implement it in accordance with the adopted action plan. Today we discuss the development of a new strategy document, which is focused on the long term goals and based on the experience accumulated over the years. The new vision of rural development is grounded on the best EU practices in this field. Our goal is to improve economic situation equally for everyone, introduce inclusive growth translating in the improvement of economic conditions for people living in rural areas . Furhermore, the standard of living lag far behind in rural areas in comparison to cities, we will make endeavours and work hard to eradicate the poverty. In the next seven years, we will focus on promoting local entrepreneurship and employment and increasing people’s engagement in the rural development process.Processing, storage, marketing, supply, agro-tourism, sustainable use of natural resources, etc. will be the main directions of the strategy " - said Levan Davitashvili.
The Rural Development Conference is part of the EU's long-term support to promote effective development of rural development in Georgia and increase economic opportunities for rural population. ENPARD has been implemented since 2013 and its budget amounts to 179.5 million euros.
‘’ European experience implemented in Georgia has demonstrated the benefits of a bottom-up approach in rural areas, empowering local people to take the development of their communities into their own hands . The EU supports Georgia to deal with economic, social and environmental challenges facing Georgian regions and is focused on the development of living conditions of rural population " -Carl Hartzell, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia said.
"The development of rural areas will offer practical economic solutions to hundreds of thousands of people, including those ones living in remote areas or less developed regions. Therefore, active participation of the population is a crucial precondition and help government to define priorities, develop policy and introduce effective mechanisms for its implementation "said Louisa Vinton, Head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Georgia.
Rural Development Conference was attended by leading officials and experts from EU Member States, including Markus Hopfner, Deputy Director General of the Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism of the Republic of Austria; and Dr. Lászlo Sandor Vajda, Former Chief Negotiator for EU accession on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary.
Discussion was held within the frame of the conference, where participants highlighted issues related to the policy development and institutional arrangement, ways of adapting successful European practices to Georgia’s realities.