The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) are lending financial support for innovation in farming within Georgia.

The ERBD is providing loans to local farmers through its Georgian Agriculture Funding Facility, while the EU has provided a $5.2 million grant to support the training of local bank employees in order to facilitate strategies for agriculture projects in the country. 

“The loan helped me to bring my company to the next level and become more competitive.”  Kakha Lashkhi, who received a $46,286 loan for his farming company, said.  “We grow, test and select local varieties of wheat and corn seeds. We cross-breed them, sometimes with foreign variants, to adapt them better to local conditions and achieve a richer harvest. The seeds are then sold to our clients."

So far, 15,352 agribusinesses and farmers in Georgia have benefitted from EBRD credit lines and EU support, including Lashkhi. 

"The loan allowed us to purchase fertilizers to achieve a better harvest, which in turn resulted in a higher income for our business," he said.