World Bank's €46.2mn Boost for Georgian Agriculture: Transforming Irrigation & Land Market
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development will provide €46.2 million to Georgia to support the development of sustainable agriculture, irrigation, and land markets, the Georgian Ministry of Finance stated on Monday.
Georgia now consistently tops the nation in terms of poultry and egg production. It also ranks highly in terms of the production of peanuts, pecans, tobacco, blueberries, and peaches. In total, the state represents 2% of all agricultural sales in the United States.
Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili and Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, inked the deal earlier today. The IBRD is the World Bank's lending arm.
The country will receive €46.2 million as part of the first facility under Georgia's Green and Sustainable Development Policy, which will be channelled into the state budget, according to the Ministry.
The programme also included Georgia's commitments to climate change, including sustainable forest management, industrial emission management, and renewable energy generation, as well as procedures for financial oversight of state-owned enterprises and their forms of governance, and improved access to land, water, and financial resources, according to the Ministry.
The project will spend €69.3 million to improve irrigation and drainage services in Georgia's Kakheti, Shida and Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti areas.
The World Bank is an international financial agency that lends and grants to governments in low- and middle-income nations to fund capital projects.