About 11 000 Families to Involve State Agricultural Assistance Program in Adjara Autonomous Republic

Keti Labadze, Maka Malakmadze

About 11 000 families in Adjara will involve the State Agricultural Assistance Program. Families from Kakhaberi, Gonio, Kvariati and Batumi will receive aid from the program. The program was implemented in the region last year too. Adjara governmental officials state it is innovation and this year farmers living in the adjoined territories will also receive aid in the frame of the program. 

Residents of villages adjoined to the city hope the decision will not change. “Last year, they collected information about the plots owned by farmers in the local administration; farmer will receive voucher according to the space of the owned plot. Then they said the territory belongs to the city and we could not get vouchers. We hope it will not repeat this year too,” Dato Beridze from Gonio said.

The program applies to the industrial zone of Airport, Kakhaberi, Gonio-Kvariati and Batumi. Last year, government refused the farmers living in the territory to get aid from the program because their territories were adjoined to the city. 

Chairman of Government of Adjara Autonomous Republic Archil Khabadze said project promoting spring works will launch in February and last till August. “The project budget is 90 million lari; beneficiaries will receive two vouchers: one for cultivation of plots that was distributed last year too; and second for agricultural goods; this year farmers will receive plastic cards, so called agro-cards.”

Agriculture Minister of Adjara Autonomous Republic Zaur Putkaradze called on the population to be aware about the lists, which will be put up on the buildings of central offices in the villages. “In order to avoid shortcomings, we call on the population to be aware.”

About 800 000 farmers involved the project of the Ministry of Agriculture throughout Georgia; they have to either own or lease plots with the space of more than 1 hectare. 

This year, residents of the territory adjoined to Batumi also joined the Project for the Promotion Spring 2014. Minister of Agriculture of Georgia Shalva Pipia made statement about it.