Details of Anti-Crisis Plan on Agriculture
As for the head of the government, agriculture is the area where the government took some steps in support of the farmers; however, this is not enough, which is why the Anti-Crisis Program, entitled Caring for Farmers and Agriculture, was developed.
The severity of what it means to have food safety and the domestic production of agricultural products in the country was revealed during the period of the crisis.
According to the Anti-Crisis Plan, every farmer with registered plots of land will receive 200 GEL per hectare from the state. This means that medium and large agricultural enterprises that possess, for example, ten hectares of land and cultivate it will receive 2,000 GEL in assistance from the state.
"Of course, this assistance will be proportionally distributed to the farmers who have relatively smaller plots of land as well," the prime minister noted.
Additionally, all farmers will receive 150 liters of diesel fuel per hectare, which is guaranteed to be 1 GEL cheaper than the market price.
The price of fuel is critically important for agricultural activities and the government is working to solve this problem not only for this year but for the coming years as well.
"The price of fuel is of critical, systemic importance for agricultural activities and we are working to solve this problem not just during the crisis but for the coming years as well. I can guarantee that the price of agricultural diesel will be significantly lower than the market price of diesel," Giorgi Gakharia stated.
Every farmer in Georgia (who number 42,000) will be fully exempt from irrigation fees. As the head of the government noted, farmers will have free water for irrigation in 2020.
As regards those farmers who need to buy machinery, the state will finance 50 percent of the expenses in the form of grants.
Furthermore, the government is working of the issue of systemic land registration within the framework of the Anti-Crisis Plan to support agriculture, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Justice. According to the government's plan, all plots of land in the country must be fully surveyed and registered over the next three years.
The farmers who have not registered their land for any reason and will manage to do so by the end of the year will also be able to take advantage of the concessions and assistance.
According to Giorgi Gakharia, the agrarian process should not be stopped for a single second - farmers in rural areas must continue their work and no land should remain uncultivated.