Georgia: Agricultural Research, Extension, Training Project (ARET)

Component 2 – Reform of the Agricultural Research System: Satisfactory. The objective of the component, to introduce reforms through the restructuring and rehabilitation of one research institute, was largely achieved. The IVHO was chosen through extensive consultations with the Government and other stakeholders. At project design the expectation was that reform model introduced in IVHO, would be used as a template to replicate in the other agricultural research institutions. A sector-wide reform of the Agricultural Research System has been initiated by Government. However, a clear strategic plan remains to be agreed until the role and interface with universities, the Academy of Sciences, and line ministries, has been determined. Nonetheless, the reform of and the investment into IVHO have actually gained results which go much beyond providing scientific support to the priority area of horticulture and viticulture. Laboratory equipment and other facilities now housed at IVHO will lay the ground work for further research especially as they relate to the selection of wine varieties, diseases and development of disease control methods, and control of foreign substances in wine production. Technical expertise and lessons learned from operating CGS under ARET Project are factored into the set-up of the National Science Foundation that now administers yearly grants programs according to agreed priorities. The objective of the component defined as piloting reform of a selected priority institute of the agricultural research system, and the formulation of a strategic vision for reform of the research system has been significantly achieved. In Georgia’s turbulent political environment, this has to be considered a satisfactory achievement of component outcome. Component 3. Pilot Environment Pollution Control (EPC) Program: Satisfactory. The primary aim of this component was to educate rural communities of the selected districts of Western Georgia on the basics on-farm management of organic waste and its implications for the quality of the environment. The pilot EPC program implementation revealed that farmers are unlikely to adopt those elements of manure management which do not carry direct and tangible economic benefits. BGDs carried benefits for the environment and served economic interests of cattle farmers. In response to the local demand, the pilot program disseminated BGDs in a larger number of administrative districts than planned originally, and significantly raised awareness of this technology, as revealed in a beneficiary survey conducted at the project’s closing. Tracking contents of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) in the minor river crossing the village with the highest proportion of farms with good manure management practices showed decrease of NO3 and PO4 decreased respectively by 4.6 percent and 23.5 percent. However, the impact of the BGDs on water pollution remains a tenuous link. With the demise of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent privatization of farms into small plots, most of the farmers reverted to subsistence farming and no longer used intensive mineral fertilizers which may have played a significant role in nutrient reduction. The lack of control sampling in non-project areas makes attribution of reduction of pollution to the project difficult. A significant aim of the component was the effective piloting and testing of suitability of BGDs in Georgia. As previously described several designs were tested and in this process builders and manufacturers have gained significant expertise in this technology. While the technology introduced under this component largely remains beyond the reach of Georgia’s small farmers targeted under the project, significant external benefits were gained from this work. However, the purchase and installation of the BGD technology is estimated at US$2,500 per unit, and remains unaffordable for the rural populations of Georgia, who are typically subsistence farmers with limited incomes. The case for BGDs vis-à-vis simpler and less costly technologies in terms of objectives to reduce pollution remains unclear. Manure pits introduced under the project, are an example of an effective lower cost method to reduce pollutants to the Black Sea. However, farmers preferred the BGD technology (particularly with significant GEF co-financing), since they brought tangible economic benefits in the form of cost savings in energy. Given these facts, the pilot EPC Program is rated as satisfactory. (#633, Georgia Agriculture)

NAP