Problems in the agricultural sector

All independent analysts, as well as the country's population are aware of Georgia's dire agricultural situation. More than two-million people in Georgia live in rural areas; more than a quarter of them are involved in agriculture. However, the agriculture sector comprises only 8% of total GDP in Georgia.

This statistical data reveals the dramatic situation in the agriculture sector, and how the situation has been deteriorating form year to year. All segments within the agricultural sector are declining in Georgia including cattle breeding. There are around 813, 000 hectares of agricultural land in Georgia; most of this land is uncultivated. Georgia has always been an agricultural country and it managed to survive until today. Thankfully Georgia has the potential to survive today– satisfying its needs, as well as exporting its products.

However, this situation requires special attention from the Georgian government through the establishment of special programs including farmer education, the mobilization of finances, cheap credit, an efficient insurance system, and access to new technology. All these and more should become the essential priority of the country’s economic strategy.

Currently, the current administration speculates a lot on improving the situation in the agricultural sector, but this is mostly a PR stunt targeted at pre-election propaganda. However, there are very little (if any at all) beneficial results yielded by the farmers. Many new programs introduced by the government don’t provide many positive results. For instance, the overall program of introducing American hybrid corn proved to be a failure and resulted in the financial collapse of many farmers due to this inadequately prepared experiment.