First Beekeeping Cooperatives Forum Held in Georgia

The first Forum for Beekeeping Cooperatives was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 11th, within the EU-funded European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development, ENPARD. The forum was initiated and organized by Mercy Corps, In Need, CARE International and OXFAM GB.

According to the organizers, the Forum provides a space where beekeeping cooperatives and other interested parties can discuss the current challenges in the beekeeping sector and develop solutions, as well as learn about the country’s current and planned state programs, initiatives, and current legislative regulations. The Forum will contribute to enhancing cooperation between beekeeping cooperatives and the private sector.

It was officially opened by Georgian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Davit Galegashvili, and Head of the Agriculture Cooperatives Development Agency, Giorgi Misheladze.

“The laboratory will be ready this year to export our products to the European Union. It will not be able to manage by the summer but those laboratories with international certification in Georgia and Turkey will soon be supporting honey export to Europe and we will also soon be able to catch up with our technical resources,” Galegashvili said.

The Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture was granted accreditation of ISO 17 025 standard, which means its research results will be recognized internationally.

The Forum was attended by representatives of the EU Delegation, the Laboratory of the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, the Scientific-Research Center, several Georgian professional associations active in beekeeping and agriculture, the Regional Information Consultation Centers, as well as cooperatives and other stakeholders.

ENPARD is a five-year program (March 2013 – March 2018) to reinvigorate the agricultural sector in Georgia with the thorough cooperation of government, civil society and farmers. The total budget of the program is EUR 52 million.

Ana Akhalaia