Development of a Less Favoured Area Policy in Georgia

Philipp Gmeiner, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management Gerhard Hovorka, Federal Institute for Less Favoured and Mountainous Areas

Klaus Wagner, Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics 16. September 2015, Prague

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Content

Project objectives and methods

Key figures of Georgia

EU - objectives for Less Favoured Areas

Neoliberal concept of development and growth

Recommendations

Conclusions

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Project objectives and methods I

Project aims:

Outline of existing LFA policies and practices in the EU and CEEC Delimitation options and proposition of indicators defining Georgian

LFAs Data availability and gaps, administrative capacity and responsibilities Potential impacts of LFA support in Georgia Recommendations on policy options to support LFA in Georgia

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Customer: FAO Georgia

Tender: Recommendations for Defining Less Favourable Areas in Georgia (part of the project: Capacity Development of the Ministry of Agriculture in Georgia)

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Project objectives and methods II

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Activity

1 Existing EU-policies and practices Home Office

2 Review of policies and practices available in CEEC

3 Kick off workshop (information and data requirement)

Mission 1 4 Basics for delimitation of LFAs (Georgian legislation)

5 Proposition of LFA indicators

6 Feasibility assessment

Mission 2

7 Capacity review to design and implement LFA policies

8 Recommendations on specific gaps

9 Policy measures impact assessment

10 Final workshop

11 Recommendations on policy options to support LFA policy formulation Home Office

12 Acceptance, process of synthesis report and project finalisation

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Georgia – key figures general

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„Relief Map of Georgia“ von File:Georgia location map.svg: NordNordWestderivative work Виктор_В - File:Georgia location map.svg by NordNordWestETOPO1SRTM3. Lizenziert unter CC BY-SA 3.0 über Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Relief_Map_of_Georgia.png#/media/File:Relief_Map_of_Georgia.png

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Russia

Georgia

Aserbaijan Armenia Turkey

Black Sea

Size: 70,000km² (57,000km²)

Pop.: 4.4 Mio (1.3 Mio Tbilisi)

Altitude: 0-5,000m

Climate: sub-tropic-continental (Precipitation: E 400 mm, W 3,000 mm)

GDP/Cap. PPP: 6,000$ (A: 43,000$)

Economic collapse after 1990, Russian embargo

15% extreme poverty, 32% below poverty threshold

Agricultural quota: >50%

Tbilisi

Georgia – key figures agriculture

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http://www.tedsnet.de/geoinfo/landuse.htm

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Land use: Agricultural area: ~800,000 ha

Arable land: ~300,000 ha Grassland: ~270,000 ha

Nr. of holdings: ~700,000

(mostly subsistence <1.5ha) Problems: low productivity,

management, infrastructure, legal uncertainties, no money for investments…

Plant Production: Corn, Potatoes, Vegetables, Wheat, Grapes, Fruits, Citrus fruits Animal production: Cattle (1.3 Mio), Sheep (870,000) , Pigs (210,000)

Example of a result map (possible mountain villages of Georgia)

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Example of a result map (areas affected by wind erosion)

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EU - objectives for Less Favoured Areas

Maintaining the countryside

Maintaining and promoting sustainable farming systems

Restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems related to agriculture and forestry, with a focus on areas facing natural or other specific constraints

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Specific Georgian objectives (in addition) :

Prevention of land abandonment

Improvement of the demographic situation

Improvement of infrastructure

Improvement of the general socioeconomic situation

The neoliberal concept of development and growth

Opening of markets, government de-regulation and privatisation of state-

owned enterprises, goods, services

World-market integration of developing countries

Adoption and implementation of support for organisations, structures and activities in the agricultural sector of developing countries

Growing scholarly differences over social, political, economic and cultural impact

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Recommendations for LFA support in Georgia I

Improvement of coordination and communication of Ministry of Agriculture with other stakeholders

Coordination of existing strategies

Coordination with forestry policy (Ministry of Environment)

An introduction of LFA direct payments in Georgia similar to the EU model is unrealistic in the near future

Defining a hierarchy of the main objectives and of measures to implement them

Starting LFA payments in pilot regions

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Recommendations for LFA support in Georgia II

Setting up of necessary administrative capacities and filling of data gaps

Building a data management system for available data (based on EU INSPIRE)

Delineation of 2 categories of LFAs: mountain areas and other LFAs

Delineation of LFAs mainly at the municipal level

Predominantly natural criteria (altitude, slope) and biophysical criteria (soil quality, climate, etc.) should be used for delineation; supplement required with socio-economic criteria

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Conclusions

The doctrine of the global competitiveness of agriculture can not be the primary goal for a country like Georgia

It’s not directly possible to implement an applied and well-functioning model like the EU-LFA payments in countries with other conditions

To create and fulfil the technical requirements for LFA payments is a long-term process; implement LFA policies initially in pilot regions

In the consulting process expectations of clients, contractors (scientists) and beneficiaries (ministry) do not always coincide completely

Personal experience: Teamwork and competent contact persons on site are essential

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