State budget financing of projects aimed at the infrastructure development of Georgian agricultural cooperatives will increase by 43% in 2023, to 5 million GEL ($1.7 million), the Rural Development Agency of Georgia (RDA) told EastFruit.
The development of the infrastructure of agricultural cooperatives is one of the areas of the “Unified Agro Project” implemented by the Agency, for which the state budget of Georgia provides 346.4 million GEL ($119.9 million) in total in 2023. Within the framework of this area of focus, it is planned to support the development of the refrigeration infrastructure of cooperatives growing berries in orchards, equipped with the aid of the United Agroproject. As a rule, the state co-finances programs for agricultural cooperatives, covering 70%-80% of the cost of a project submitted by a cooperative.
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According to the RDA, 9 agricultural cooperative enterprises were created in 2022 uniting more than 100 small farmers as part of programs to support agricultural cooperatives. 25 cooperatives have been given the status of agricultural cooperatives since the beginning of the year.
The Agency noted that agricultural cooperatives have the right to participate both in programs designed for them and in all current RDA programs. In the second case, state co-financing of 10% higher than for all other legal entities is provided for them.
According to the Agency’s electronic register, there are currently 1 122 agricultural cooperatives of various specializations operating in Georgia.
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