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Farmers testing new crop varieties |
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 Farmers testing new crop varieties, technologies for better lifeIrma
Mushkudiani, 39, is from Okureshi, a Tsagerian village in the region of
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti. Before 2006 she and her family lived
in Kutaisi, Georgia’s second largest city, but they had to move back to
Okureshi because their living conditions were difficult. The family
experienced limited opportunities to make money and became trapped in a
vicious cycle of poverty.
In order to feed her three young children, she and
her husband bought a house in Okureshi with a 2,000 square-meter
agriculture plot in hopes of cultivating the land and using harvested
products to support their household. The family lives below the poverty
line and 102 lari a month that they receive in aid from the Georgian
government is their only cash income.
As part of the Strengthening Community-based
Initiatives for poverty reduction in the Racha-Lechkhumi and
Kvemo-Svaneti Region of Georgia (COMBI), a project implemented by CARE
International in the Caucasus, Irma arranged two agriculture
demonstration plots. On one nearly 100 square-meter plot of land she
planted 10 kg of garlic plants and on another, she planted 35 apple
plants.
“I heard there was a project giving plants to
cultivate the lands. Initially I thought that more than 300 households
live in our village community, and I would not be that lucky person to
receive the plants. Fortunately, CARE provided plants to arrange the
demonstrations plots to several households,” Irma told Georgia Today.
“CARE’s agriculture extensionists promise that if we
operate the plots by the recommended contemporary standards, the harvest
will be enough not only for family consumption but to sell it on the
market,” she added.
According to Tariel Saginadze, an agricultural expert
at AbkhazinterCont (AIC), the project’s partner organization, the
demonstration plots are the best examples how to receive the maximum
output that will become the income for the households in the future.
“From 10 kg of garlic plants, Irma will yield 150 kg
of garlic as a minimum. In the winter season, the average price for a
kilo of garlic is 6 lari, totaling 900 lari,” Saginadze explained.
CARE has developed a system of standards for on-farm
demonstration plots as a means to spread ideas and learning throughout
villages and communities. All demonstration farmers saw best practices
in how to set up and operate a plot, as well as what types of impact can
be achieved.
“This approach has proven to increase household
income by average 30%. More importantly, when other farmers see the
benefits of new seed varieties, new breeds and new technologies combined
with proper care, they understand that it really works. This kind of
ripple effect is one of the most effective means to sustainably reduce
poverty for the poorer families in the rural areas ,” said Tamar
Melkadze, the Project Manager of COMBI. “Demonstration farmers are
trained in record-keeping and the use of communication and materials, so
they are best able to function as a center of learning amongst their
neighbors and friends.
Funded by the European Commission and the Austrian
Development Cooperation and Cooperation for Eastern Europe, a 30 month
project kicked-off in the spring of 2009. The overall budget of the
project is Euro 500, 000.
The project targets the five poorest communities in
the Tsageri and Lentekhi municipalities. The project aims to beneыt
around 4,000 individuals (or 1,000 households) in five targeted
communities in the Tsageri municipality- including Orbeli, Usakhelo,
Okureshi, Chkhuteli and one in the Lentekhi municipality including
Kheledi.
Among the project, more than 118 demonstration plots
were established- including apple, garlic, nut, plural raspberries,
potatoes, corn, chicken and bee-keeping. The plots are sign-posted near
the road and are set up next to “control plots” of a similar
enterprise, to allow visual and measurable comparisons.
“After the harvest, the demonstration farmers will be
responsible to bear 50% of the input supply costs of the demonstration
in the second year, and 75% in the third year, and be responsible to
maintain accurate farm records of the costs and the benefits of the
demonstration,” Melkadze added.
Nineli Kvirashvili, in the neighboring village of
Chkhuteli, also received twenty demonstration chickens called Brahma
chicken, an Asian-based breed from CARE. Brahma is appreciated for its
great size, strength, and vigor and in eight months, the chicken reaches
seven kg and will start to lay eggs. The eggs are also used for
incubating. The price for the incubating egg is five lari and one hen
lays 160 eggs annually.
“My chickens are nearly three months and I take care of them as if
they were children. I plan to use the eggs for incubation to increase
the number of chickens- that will be additional income for my family,”
Kvirashvili told Georgia Today.
By Tamar Khurtsia
7.07.2011
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July 07, 2011
