Harvest of grain in Kakheti breaks records

Minister of Agriculture Bakur Kvezereli welcomed the successful development of the US corn program at the Government sitting on Wednesday. Giving detailed information about the increased harvest in Kakheti and Shida Kartli the Minister announced that the amount of corn and grain has almost doubled compared with the previous year. Suggesting that they might export cereals to the neighboring countries, Kvezereli stressed that 85% of harvest has been gathered in Kakheti while the cornfields in Shida Kartli will also be ready in the near future.

The average result from the grain is 3 tons per hectare which according to the Minister was absolutely “unimaginable” in previous years. As Kvezereli explained, the best result Georgia has ever achieved in the past was only 1800 kilos per hectare, while this figure has increased dramatically in 2011. “Cornfield monitoring will soon be over and we’ll immediately get the entire picture of this year’s harvest,” said the Minister. Stressing that the harvest is the main part of rural dwellers' income, Kvezereli also emphasized its “social importance” for the country.

Hoping to export American corn to neighboring countries, Prime Minister Nika Gilauri also welcomed the successful implementation of the hybrid cereals and spoke of the project as “a step forward to agricultural prosperity.” But the political party Free Georgia claimed the opposite. Commenting on Governor Giorgi Gviniashvili’s statement about the “unprecedented harvest in Kakheti” Tamila Gurashvili chairwoman of the party’s regional headquarter worried about the hard situation in Kakheti villages.

“The most part of the plentiful lands of Shiraki have remained unprocessed this year because of high prices on petrol [for tractors], non-existence of technical equipment and other hindering circumstances. Most families living at Dedoplistskaro village have also lost their lands,” Gurashvili stated. Wondering whether the Governor felt awkward to announce “successful developments” of the region, the opposition representative stressed that only a few farmers (members of ruling United National Movement) have yielded a harvest for supporting the Government.