Guria Farmers Expect Blueberry Plantations to Give 250 tons of Harvest in 2020
Deputy Agriculture Minister Solomon Pavliashvili and Guria Region Governor Zurab Nassaria have visited blubbery plantations in the village of Naruja, Ozurgeti Municipality. The plantation is owned by LLC Blueberry.
The plantation was arranged on 16 hectares with the government’s financial support. Blueberry company is a beneficiary of Plant the Future project, preferential agro credit and agro production support programs. The company joined the state projects in 2016 and obtained 100,000 GEL financial component for arranging the gardens and irrigation systems, including 96,600 GEL for purchasing plants from France and 3,380 GEL for drip systems. This year the forecast harvest is 80 tons. The company employs about 150 local residents on season.
„State projects provide important support for revival of berry culture. Today, the price of 1kg of blueberry is 13-15 GEL and this is a serious source of incomes. It is also an important stimulus to expand gardens and receive more profits. Demand for blueberry on domestic markets and exports markets is growing. Berry culture will become a trademark of Guria Region in the near 3 years”, Solomon Pavliashvili noted.
“On the whole, blubbery plantations in Guria Region cover 225 hectares. This year the forecast harvest is 250 tons. The gardens are being actively arranged in the region for both commercial purposes and small farmers, primarily under the state program. Guria Region is one of the advanced locations for berry production”, Zurab Nassaria noted.