Recovery, Conservation, and Sustainable Use of Georgia’s Agrobiodiversity

The project goal is the conservation and sustainable utilization of threatened local plant genetic resources important to food and agriculture in Georgia. The project has two immediate objectives: 1. In-situ and ex-situ conservation of selected local agricultural biodiversity in Samtskhe-Javakheti on a pilot demonstration basis; 2. A strategy agreed and under implementation for replication in other Georgian regions of best practice and lessons learned in conservation and utilization of local agricultural biodiversity. The project will be implemented by Association ELKANA, an established NGO that provides technical, distribution and marketing support to organic farmers. ELKANA has its own distribution network, marketing unit and provides its own credit lines to member farmers. ELKANA also has established contacts with distributors and organic associations in Europe. The GEF project will finance activities incremental to ELKANA’s regular technical, distribution and marketing services to farmers who use the threatened and globally important varieties targeted by this project.