With the support of the European Union ENPARD program CENN and Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia together with the respective LAGs of Keda and Khulo Municipalities hosted an official presentation of the newly developed Local Development Strategies.  The event took place on October 12 at the Hilton Hotel Batumi in Adjara A/R.

The welcome remarks were delivered by the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia Carl Hartzell, First Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Nodar Kereselidze, the Chairman of Ajara A/R Government Tornike Rijvadze, the Minister of Agriculture of Adjara A/R Tine Aroshidze, CENN Executive Director Nana Janashia, and the mission director of Caritas in Georgia, Eka Meskhiradze.

As the EU Ambassador to Georgia H.E. Mr Hartzell emphasized the support to the rural development sector in Georgia as one of the priorities for the EU actions in the country. Ambassador also addressed the importance of the partnership amongst LAGs as a vital component for ensuring sustainable rural development which implies the inclusion of local actors as implementers.

Within the presentation the activities implemented under the CENN’s Keda LEADER project and Caritas’, Promotion of Rural Development and Diversification in Khulo Municipality were presented to the wider audience and the respective LAGs from Keda and Khulo Municipalities present strategic directions included in the Local Development Strategies of their municipalities.

As stated by the CENN Executive Director Nana Janashia, enhancing the further cooperation and introduction of the sustainable development practices in rural development is of the utmost importance in a face of the global climate-related challenges. The rural areas of Georgia, have an untrained potential for the high-value eco-tourism which needs to be embraced accordingly. 

The EU-supported projects in Adjara A/R are implemented by CENN in partnership with the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), the Institute of Democracy (IoD) and the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning (ÖIR) in Keda Municipality and by Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia in a partnership with the PMC Research Center and Croatian Rural Development Network (HMRR).

The EU currently supports agriculture and rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 179.5 million, the main goal of ENPARD is to reduce rural poverty in Georgia. The first phase of ENPARD in Georgia focused on developing the potential of agriculture. The second and third phases of ENPARD focus on creating economic opportunities for rural populations that go beyond agricultural activities. More information about ENPARD is available at:www.enpard.ge.