Cattle breeding is one of the lowest-income activities in Georgia. Farmers living in highland regions face many obstacles, including a lack of access to educational resources, farming equipment, and modern technologies. Despite this, each of them still desires to develop their farm and thus contribute not only to their own well-being but also to the socio-economic development of the local community.
In recent years, many farmers have received new knowledge and financial support to purchase the necessary machinery and equipment through various donor-funded projects. Such support included not only raising farmers’ skills through various educational courses and training, including artificial insemination, but also resources to develop veterinary services at the local level.
Artificial insemination increases the productivity of cattle
In recent years, artificial insemination of livestock has become particularly popular, and for many reasons. This technology allows planning the genetics of the animal, while in the process, it is possible to determine the productivity, sex, and visual side of the cattle.
Dairy farms prefer females in artificial insemination, while beef farms prefer males. In addition, artificial insemination ensures the prevention of disease transfer from stock to calf, which is due to the clean insemination material required for the process.
Giorgi Varsimashvili is the only veterinarian in Pshav-Khevsureti. Although he is only 23 years old, he has been actively involved in the artificial insemination of cattle and pigs for many years, and provides veterinary services for cattle, pigs, and dogs.
Giorgi says that with the passage of time and the desire to develop, his small business needed tools to make his veterinary services even more qualitative. This is how he learned about the Caritas Czech Republic’s project and won the grant competition:
“At the moment, I am working alone. I serve ten adult farms. I provide services to the rest of the population individually and throughout the entire region – Mtskheta, Kazbegi, and Tianeti. Future plans include setting up a breeding center to offer pure genetics to the public and a demonstration farm to promote different breeds.”
Like Pshav-Khevsureti, the Beshumi resort in mountainous Adjara has only one veterinary service. Revaz Bolkvadze, the founder of this service, has had a veterinary clinic and pharmacy in Khulo for many years. Revazi says that the need for such services in the Beshumi resort has been there for a long time, because when goods were transferred from Khulo to Beshumi, the need for a vet doctor and vet drugs automatically arose. There was neither one nor the other in Beshumi until now.
“I learned about the Caritas Czech Republic’s project and decided to participate in the grant competition. As a result, we have organized a container that provides artificial insemination and vet services; we also have vet preparations. There are three of us – me and two vet doctors. We have a hotline, and we go from home to home. We serve twelve villages that are more or less clustered together.”
Modern technology saves farmers’ time and energy
Everyone knows that modern technology saves time and energy in any production, yet this is still a luxury for many Georgian farmers. Small family farms and newly established enterprises face this problem most acutely.
Bagrat Kadagidze is from the village of Zemo Alvani, Akhmeta Municipality. Bagrat’s plan includes purchasing cattle to set up a dairy and beef farm. However, before reaching this stage, he decided to get one step ahead and began producing the combined feed needed for cattle.
Bagrat says that with this production, he will not only satisfy his farm, but also supply shops and local farmers.
“I found out about the project on the Internet. I installed a mill to produce combined feed (the grain for the product is ground and mixed with different components) and purchased a granulator, which prepares the feed in the form of small pellets. That’s how I became self-employed. In addition, I will need one assistant and one driver in the enterprise, which means I will create two workplaces. The purchased equipment will not only facilitate the development of my farm (the cost of beef will cost me much less than others), but I will also be able to sell the produced food throughout the region.”
Bagrat says that 1,500 families live in his village, and they constantly need livestock feed.
Gigi Arabuli is another young man from the village of Sakhile in Khevsureti. Gigi is 23 years old, and, with his parents and brother, he is engaged in cattle breeding – they sell cheese, boiled butter, and beef. Like many other farmers, access to modern equipment was a big challenge for Gigi and his family: “We had a problem that we could not fully mow the fodder grass needed for cattle with our strength.”
As part of the project, the Arabuli family purchased a tractor, a mower, and an electric cell, which greatly simplified their work. According to Gigi, where it used to take a month to mow manually, now, with the help of a tractor, they can do the same amount of work in half a month.
Another farmer involved in the project is 72-year-old Sanata Nakeuri, who has a 30-head livestock farm in the village of Khililo, Dusheti municipality. The primary source of income for a family of ten people is the income from the dairy products and meat sold. Within the project’s framework, an animal stall was organized on Sanata Nakeuri’s farm, which simplifies cattle care. In winter, cattle is milked here. The family was also given a mowing tractor, greatly simplifying their work.
As a result of the project, the income of the farmers increased
As part of the two-year long project ‘Cattle Farming in Georgia: Towards Increased Productivity, competitiveness, and Sustainability,’ supported by the Czech Development Agency, Caritas Czech Republic supported Georgian farmers’ increased access to the local market by improving business development, sanitary and biosecurity standards, and linkages between clients and finance. Project experts worked with artificial insemination specialists, veterinarians, and farmers to increase their skills in artificial insemination, proper animal care, sustainable pasture management, feed production, and good cattle feeding practices.
Within the frames of the project, farmers, veterinarians, and artificial insemination specialists were trained, and demonstration plots were organized to introduce the practice of rotational grazing. In addition, grants were disseminated to purchase the equipment necessary for beef cattle breeding.
The Khulo and Aragvi Local Action Groups (LAGs) and Tusheti Landscape Protection Administration (TPLA) were actively involved in the project. Also, the project actively cooperated with state bodies. In addition, the project cooperated with CzechTrade in organizing the Czech companies’ missions and for the beneficiaries’ entry in the Georgian Farmer’s Association (GFA). In addition, Georgian farmers could learn about Czech agricultural practices through B2B meetings.
As a result of the project, the number of farmers who follow sustainable and more productive animal husbandry practices increased. The selected farmers have better access to the market, and their income was increased accordingly.
This material was produced in the framework of the Caritas Czech Republic’s project, which is carried out in cooperation with the Czech Development Agency (CzDA). The initiative is a part of the Czech Republic’s large-scale Official Development Assistance towards Georgia.
By Nina Kopaleishvili
