December 8, 2015
Georgia
On November 28th to 30th 2015 a study tour for members of a cooperative farm and other farmers from Tusheti, Georgia was held. The tour was part of Caritas CR’s larger undertakings in the region of Javakheti.
Makhare Matsukatov, the Director of the Protected Landscape Area visiting center, gave a presentation on the topic of "Potatoes from Aklhalkalaki as a product of the geographic area, their branding, the specifics and new technologies." The debate also included the topic of production of potatoes, including for example:
- Soil preparation for planting potatoes
- Protection of potatoes from diseases, fertilization and irrigation
- Efficient methods of harvesting potatoes and storage
The participants also visited the Javakheti Agro Company, an agricultural company which is engaged in sorting and packaging vegetables. Following this, they met Hovik Muradyan, a potato grower in the village of Chandura (Aklhalkalaki municipality). He showed them his farm, storage space for potatoes and other produce. Mr. Muradyan recommended his guests to move away from Soviet procedures to new technologies and methods.
The last item on the agenda was the visit to the cheese farm "Car Gly". The staff at the cheese farm showed
guests the modern technology of milk processing and traditional cheese processing in Javakheti.
The tour was an interesting experience for farmers from Tusheti and inspired them to move on to more efficient ways of growing vegetables at home.
Caritas Czech Republic support traditional agriculture in Tusheti. The project was supported by the Czech Development Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Programme of International Development Cooperation of the Czech Republic.
