Can Georgia start a new green bioorganic revolution, or produce ecologically clean agri-food products using modern technologies? – These and other issues were discussed during the 2nd International Scientific-Practical Conference
“Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development of Agriculture” held at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University on
October 11. The event was organized by the Chair of Microeconomics of TSU Faculty of Economics and Business and the Georgian-German Institute for Economic Policy.
Along with Georgian scientists, the guests invited from Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as the representatives of the Georgian Ministries of Agriculture, Regional Development and Infrastructure, Finance and the Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences attended the conference.
The participants discussed the problems of genetically modified products, production of ecologically clean products, safe agricultural development, changes in the agrarian policy of the EU member states, organic farming and budget reduction.
TSU Professor
Eter Kharaishvili said that “the key goal of the conference is to make proposals and recommendations on the basis of findings developed by scientists on the key trends of sustainable development of bioeconomics and agriculture, while its mission is to assist governmental structures, business sector, representatives of academic circles and students. I am sure that familiarization with the findings of business circles and practicing researchers will make our proposals and recommendations more reasonable and well-grounded.”
“During the European crisis the EU member states reduced their budgets for production of agricultural and bioeconomic goods that had a negative impact on the production of ecological agri-food products. However, in 2013-2015 it is planned to change the bioeconomics and agriculture funding policy; the EU member states will increase their budgets in this direction that will promote the increase in the share of bioeconomic products and we hope that the new policy will be more effective,” Professor
Luca Chezzaro of the National University of Agricultural Economics (Rome, Italy) said.
The conference, which ended on October 12, was held with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. The conference also envisaged a tour dedicated to using modern technologies in agriculture as well as a visit to the company Château Mukhrani.
