Agriculture situation in Georgia

Please find some information about the current agriculture situation in Georgia (at the end of 2022)

Number of inhabitants in Georgia : around 3,7 millions inhabitants
Agricultural land:
- 788 000 hectares (Agrovoc, FAO 2021). As a result of land reform, the Georgian government has privatized over 45 % and leased about 30 % of the country’s agricultural land. The law on Privatization of State‐owned Agricultural Land was passed in July 2005, which increased efficiency and output in the agricultural sector. The new Constitution that came into force in December 2018 imposed restrictions on the sale of agricultural land to foreigners (almost a ban).
Type of farms : The majority of farmers (93.6 percent) are small scale farms / family traditional farms. They own in average 1,14 ha of agricultural land (Geostat, 2021). Only 4.8 % of farmers own 2 to 5 ha of land, and 1.5 % own more than 5 ha, so a 20 ha farm is a big one in Georgia. With such an ownership structure, commercial farming remains underdeveloped. (source : International Trade Administration, 2022). After the end of URSS, farmers had to learn to become farmers again after being agricultural workers as they were not owning land during Soviet time. It is currently difficult for farmers to get access to training, technologies and bank loans.
Employement : more than 50 % of labor force (Geostat, FAO 2020), 40 % of the population lives in rural areas in Georgia (source : International Trade Administration, 2022). Their income is low.
Economy : 7-8 % of GDP in the last 5 years (source : International Trade Administration, 2022) = agriculture is an important sector for the Georgia economy.
Main agricultural crops :
- Cereals, early and late vegetables, potatoes, annual crops, grapes, subtropical fruits and a variety of other vegetables. Georgia is also one of the oldest wine-producing places in the world.
- There are 12 different microclimatic zones and 49 types of soils.
- Many endemic species create a perfect source for the development of plant growing, cattle breeding and alpine farming, and the country is rich in water resources. However, the rugged and mountainous territory also limits total available arable acreage, especially for field crops.
- The leading agricultural sub-sectors in Georgia are fruits and vegetables (fresh, dried or frozen), fruit and vegetable processing, organic farming, walnut production, berry production, citrus production, the oil plant industry, livestock production and wine. Processing is one of the most important and attractive investment categories. (Agrovoc, FAO, 2020)
Agricultural and food self-sufficience : Npo, Georgia imports up to 75 % of its food like powdered milk, meat products, processed food, wheat, …
Exportations : Russia traditionally received most of Georgia’s exports but, since Georgia signed a DCFTA with the EU in 2014, Georgia has focused on developing European markets and Georgia also grows an increasing quantity of crops, including vegetables and corn, for domestic consumption. Georgia is well known for is wine production, they have opportunities in services for product quality and safety standards at wineries, re-equipping of wineries, vineyard replanting and expansion of wineries into the tourism industry.
Government support :
- Agriculture and Food Planning and Food Security rules in Georgia is not yet built for small-scale farmers, even if they are the majority. Organizations like Elkana ask for having two different Agriculture and Food Plannings : one for small scale farmers and one for bigger farms. Elkana is exchanging with the Comittee of Parliament, in order to get more financial and technical support to small scale and organic farmers, for instance to finance the organic certification process.
- It is difficult for farmers to get a loan as the interests are really high, up to 15 %.
Farmers unions and cooperatives : Currently not many in Georgia. As a former URSS country, farmers are suspicious with cooperatives and unions and the majority of the 3500 cooperatives created, with the Government support (in order to have suppliers for large food chain), within the last 10 years do not exist anymore. Many explanations are needed to convince farmers and keep cooperatives « alive ».
EU situation : Georgia signed in 2014 an Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement with the European Union (EU), which implies that agricultural products exported from Georgia will more easily reach EU markets (they need to reach the restrictive EU standards…) and that Georgian farms get EU subsidies. Since then some Georgian laws have been adapted to be compatible to EU laws and standards.
Organic agriculture: in development. It is already possible to export organic products in EU but it is really difficult because the AB certification is too expensive for small scale farmers and organic products are often too expensive for local market. Therefore there is an increasing demand for organic products.

To go further please do not hesitate to read the AGROVOC country report on Georgia (FAO, 2020).

These maps can allow you to better visualize agricultural and plant production in Georgia (1e and 2e maps, they are simplifications) and a Georgian soil map !