Development of the hazelnut sector in Georgia supported by USAID
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Wednesday, March 19
USAID Mission Director Stephen M. Haykin handed over the NEO-developed database on the Movements and Impacts of Hazelnut Pests to the Agricultural University of Georgia on March 18. The event took place at the conference hall of the Agricultural University of Georgia.
Haykin said that among many other initiatives in the agricultural sector, NEO focused its efforts on mitigating the impact of four major pests on hazelnut and other crops in western Georgia.
“Over the past year, NEO created a database that tracks the movements of hazelnut pests in the regions of Georgia. To ensure the sustainability and further development of the database, as well as promote the dissemination of information and data among farms, scientists, professors, students and other stakeholders, USAID/NEO has decided to handover the database, online mapping system and training materials to the Agricultural University of Georgia,” Haykin said, hoping that this event will be a significant milestone to further develop our cooperation to introduce new technologies and best practices in Georgia’s agricultural sector.
As such, NEO focused its efforts on mitigating the impact of four major pests (Fall Webworm Moth, Nut Weevil, Big Bud Mite, and Hazelnut Twig Borer) on hazelnuts and other crops in western Georgia.
Over the past year, NEO created an online database that tracks the movements of hazelnut pests across the Imereti, Guria, Samegrelo, and Adjara regions of Georgia.
Head of Agricultural University, Lasha Gotsiridze, Director of Anaseuli Subtropical Crops and Tea Industry Research Institute Temur Revishvili, Acting Chief of Party of USAID/NEO project Barbara Yale, and NEO’s Rural Economic Development Advisor Rusudan Mdivani also attended the meeting.
NEO, through its Rural Economic Development (RED) component, supports the growth and development of the hazelnut, fruit, vegetable, beekeeping, livestock, and tourism value chains. NEO introduces innovative technologies and practices to enable agriculture value chain stakeholders to reduce production costs, boost yield, improve quality, access new markets, and generate increased income from the sale of their products and services.
