Georgia Finds Alternate Use for Abandoned Tea Land
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia inherited over 62,000 hectares of unused tea land, the majority of which remains abandoned and overgrown. The demise of the tea industry in Georgia led to a dire economic situation in areas where tea cultivation had been an important source of income.
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AgVANTAGE stakeholder planting blueberries in his newly established berry orchard
Photo Credit: Zviad Bobokashvili |
Since 2004 USAID’s AgVANTAGE project has investigated prospects for effectively utilizing lands where tea production is no longer commercially viable. Fortuitously, soil tests revealed a high level of acidity in these lands, making them particularly well suited to blueberry production.
Blueberries are a high-value crop grown extensively in a number of countries, including the U.S. Blueberry production worldwide tripled in the past 30 years. However, blueberries have never been cultivated in Georgia. It was only two years ago that the AgVANTAGE project imported 12 new blueberry varieties from the U.S. and planted them in three demonstration sites in the Imereti province to demonstrate the crop's potential for local growers.
In an effort to further assess the adaptability of this crop, AgVANTAGE established two additional research-demonstration sites in the Guria province in April 2007, providing a comparison of 12 blueberry varieties. Modern cultivation practices key to achieving high yields are applied in all five demonstration sites, including drip irrigation and mulching.
“Next year, we will begin to see tangible results. We hope that our demonstration sites will lead to future investments,” said AgVANTAGE Production Unit Manager Zviad Bobokashvili.
Before introduction of this new cultivar to Georgia, a series of educational seminars were held throughout the country to raise farmers’ awareness and encourage them to consider producing this promising and profitable crop.
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