Georgian Vegetable Growers Cultivate Profits
David Ebanoidze estimates his income has grown by about 60 percent since he first met with the USAID-supported AgVANTAGE project. With assistance from AgVANTAGE, his farm near the town of Marneuli has undergone radical changes, including introduction of advanced vegetable production technologies and new types of off-season vegetables.
Local vegetable production is highly seasonable and often utilizes outdated technologies and varieties, resulting in low yields and product quality. Currently, demand in Georgia for out-of-season vegetables can only be met by more expensive imports. There is also a growing niche in the country for varieties of high-quality vegetables not traditionally grown here. These conditions present a market opportunity for local farmers to bring their products to the market earlier in the season and provide new varieties of products in demand. Most farmers in Georgia, however, do not posses the knowledge or the technology required to capture this opportunity.
USAID’s AgVANTAGE project is working with farmers in Georgia to reform their farming practices and to assist them to test and introduce vegetable varieties never before cultivated in Georgia.
“It is always difficult to risk trying something unfamiliar when you have a family to support and a business to maintain,” Ebanoidze remarked. “I’ve seen technologies and tasted products from abroad, but I would never risk testing them here, as you cannot be sure of the result.”
In February 2006, seedlings of different varieties of sweet pepper, table tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, red cabbage, Chinese cabbage, white cabbage, cucumbers, melons and watermelons supplied by the AgVANTAGE project were grown in a specially constructed polythene tunnel. In May of the same year, these seedlings were transplanted to a demonstration field owned by Ebanoidze.
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| USAID’s AgVANTAGE project assists farmers throughout Georgia to increase their yields and take advantage of market opportunities for new varieties and off-season vegetables. |
With guidance from AgVANTAGE, the crops were planted on raised beds so that they would not be damaged by irrigation and machinery. A drip irrigation system was installed to provide the precise amounts of water required by the plants. Half the field was covered with mulch to show how it can provide better thermoregulation and prevent weed growth. These technologies had an immediate impact on the quality and quantity of the harvest. The raised bed technique required less labor and allowed for more efficient irrigation and more effective weed control with minimal pesticide usage. It yielded a 30 percent increase in vegetable quantity and a 50 percent improvement in quality.
“If you compare a typewriter and a computer, then you’ll have an idea of the effect that the raised bed system has had on my operation,” said Ebanoidze. “I now use it on my entire farm.”
Farmers from across the country visited the field and determined which technologies and varieties were the most appropriate for them and their region. The results echoed throughout the country. In Gori, 15 farmers started extensive production of early tomatoes; in Zugdidi, Girogi Chikovani’s new 420-square meter tunnel allows him to produce large amounts of cucumber almost all year long, and in Marneuli, six of the largest vegetable growers, who together produce nearly 20 percent of the vegetable crop in the Kvemo Kartli region, have switched to a raised bed system and now cultivate vegetables they never grew before. On his own farm, Ebanoidze planted one hectare of table tomatoes, three hectares of melon and five hectares of broccoli. He also plans to produce cherry tomatoes because he thinks they will be popular in the local market.
“Our short-term goal is to help farmers replace imported goods with local products. This is gradually being achieved. More and more retail buyers are turning to local farmers,” says Ilia Mchedlidze of AgVANTAGE. “The next stage will be setting up exports. We have shown farmers ways to maximize yields and take advantage of market opportunities, and even farmers that are unable to adopt these practices today, now know what is possible and can make improvements when they are able,” he added.
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