BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 16
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
This week, farmers from different regions in Georgia, as well as European Union (EU) and UN representatives, visited a potato and fodder beet demonstration plot in the village of Artsevani, Tsalka, Trend reports via the EU.
The field day was organized within the framework of the EU-funded project ‘AFD-ENPARD Program for access to agricultural finance for small-scale semi-commercial farms and cooperatives’ (FinExCoop Georgia). The event aimed to introduce certified experimental high-quality seeds for potatoes and fodder beet to Georgian farmers.
During the visit, local farmers said they had harvested 30 tons per hectare from the four new types of potato seeds, which is three times the regional average.
As for the five new varieties of fodder beet, yields are around 80 tons per hectare, which is again triple the regional average. Next year, the visiting farmers are expected to use part of their fields for these new, productive varieties, which also do not require heavy equipment to be cultivated and harvested.
FinExCoop has a mandate to develop technical assistance for Georgian farmers and is currently implementing a testing, training, and transfer strategy.
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