Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698060872166.pdf (Georgia)
GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” ANNEX 1 European Commission-FAO Programme in Georgia Project Title: "ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Project symbol: GCP/GEO/010/EC Recipient Country: Georgia Government(s)/other counterpart(s): Ministry of Agriculture Expected EOD (Starting Date): 15 March 2017 Expected NTE (End Date): 14 March 2019 Contribution to FAO’s Strategic Framework: Strategic Objective/Organizational Outcome: Strategic Objective 2 - Increase and improve provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner.
Organizational Outcome201 - Producers and natural resource managers adopt practices that increase and improve agricultural sector production in a sustainable manner.

Organizational Output 20101 - Innovative practices for sustainable agricultural production (including traditional practices that improve sustainability, such as those listed as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems [GIAHS]) are identified, assessed and disseminated and their adoption by stakeholders is facilitated.
Organizational Outcome 204 - Stakeholders make evidence-based decisions in the planning and management of the agricultural sectors and natural resources to support the transition to sustainable agricultural sector production systems through monitoring, statistics, assessment and analysis.

Organizational Output 20403 - Capacity development support is provided to institutions at national and regional levels to plan for and conduct data collection, analyses, application and dissemination.
Strategic Objective 3 - Reduce rural poverty Organizational Outcome 301 - The rural poor have enhanced and equitable access to productive resources, services, organizations and markets, and can manage their resources more sustainably.

Organizational Output 30104 - Support to innovations in rural services provision 1 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” and infrastructure development accessible to the rural poor.
Strategic Objective 4 - Enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems.

Organizational Outcome 402 - Agribusinesses and agrifood chains that are more inclusive and efficient are developed and implemented by the public and private sectors.

Organizational Output 40201 - Public sector institutions are supported to formulate and implement policies and strategies, and to provide public goods that enhance inclusiveness and efficiency in agrifood chains.
Country Outcome(s): Strategic Direction 3.2: Institutional Development Strategic Direction 3.4 - Regional and sectorial development – value-chain development.

Strategic Direction 3.7 - Climate Change, Environment and Biodiversity.

Country Programming Framework(s) Output(s):    Priority Area 1: institutional development; Priority Area 2: regional and sectoral development – value-chain development; Priority Area 4: climate change, environment and biodiversity.
Regional Initiatives: i) empowering smallholders and family farming; and ii) agrifood trade and regional integration.
Environmental and Social Risk Classification low risk X moderate risk  high risk  Gender Marker1 Funded by: Total Budget: G0  G1  G2a x G2b  European Union EUR 1 500 000 1 See Guidance Note on ¨Gender Mainstreaming in project identification and formulation¨ 2 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................... 6 SECTION 1 RELEVANCE................................................................................................................................. 9 1 GENERAL CONTEXT................................................................................................................................ 9 1.1 1.2 Country features related to the assistance....................................................................9 Sectoral Context.........................................................................................................11 2 RATIONALE.............................................................................................................................................. 24 2.1 Project Justification....................................................................................................24 2.2 Alignment and Strategic Fit.......................................................................................24 3 EXPECTED RESULTS............................................................................................................................. 32 3.1 Impact.........................................................................................................................32 3.2 Outcome and outputs..................................................................................................32 SECTION 2 – FEASIBILITY.......................................................................................................................... 39 4 5 RISK MANAGEMENT............................................................................................................................ 39 4.1 Significant risks facing the project.............................................................................39 IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS...............................................43 5.1.
Institutional Framework and Coordination................................................................43 6 MONITORING, PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING......................................48 6.1 Scope and Purpose.....................................................................................................48 7.
PROVISION FOR EVALUATION......................................................................................................... 50 SECTION 3 - SUSTAINABILITY OF RESULTS........................................................................................ 51 8.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY............................................................................................. 51 9.
GENDER SUSTAINABILITY................................................................................................................ 52 ANNEX 2: LOGICAL FRAMEWORK MATRIX........................................................................................ 54 ANNEX 3: WORK PLAN................................................................................................................................ 57 ANNEX 4: BUDGET......................................................................................................................................... 58 ANNEX 5: ToRs OF MAIN POSITIONS..................................................................................................... 59 ANNEX 6: COMMUNICATION AND VISIBILITY PLAN......................................................................60 3 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” LIST OF ACRONYMS AA ACDA ADA APMA ASF CEDAW CIB CIS CPF CSA CSO DCFTA DRR ENP ENPARD FAFA FAO FDI FTA GAPs GDP GeoStat GIAHS GIS GSP HRBA ICC IDP IPM IT LEADER LTO M&E MIS NFA OVI PPP PPP PRDP PSC RD Association Agreement Agriculture Cooperative Development Agency Austrian Development Agency Agriculture Project Management Agency African Swine Fever Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Comprehensive Institutional Building Commonwealth of Independent States FAO Country Framework Programming Climate-Smart Agriculture Civil Society Organization Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Disaster Risk
 Reduction European Neighbourhood Policy European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Foreign Direct Investment Free Trade Agreement Good Agricultural Practices Gross Domestic Product National Statistics Office of Georgia Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems Geographic Information System General System of Preferences Human Rights Based Approach Information and Consultation Centre Internally Displaced Person Integrated Pest Management Information Technology Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Economie Rurale (a European Union rural development approach) Lead Technical Officer Monitoring and Evaluation Market Information System National Food Agency Objectively Verifiable Indicator Purchasing Power Parity Public Private Partnership Pilot Regional Development Programmes Project Steering Committee Rural Development 4 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” RDSG REU RIC SADG SDC SDGs SPAERS SPS SRDG SSF SVCA ToRs UN UN-SWAP UNDP UNPSD USAID USD USDA VCA Rural Development Strategy of Georgia FAO Regional Office for Central Asia and Europe Regional Information Centre Strategy for Agriculture Development for Georgia Swiss Development Cooperation Sustainable Development Goals Strategic Plan for Agricultural, Environmental and Rural Statistics Sanitary and Phytosanitary
 measures Strategy for Rural Development of Georgia Single Support Framework for the European Union’s Support to Georgia Sustainable Value-Chain Analysis Terms of Reference United Nations system-wide Action Plan for Implementation of the United Nations CEB Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women United Nations Development Programme United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development United States Development Aid Programme United States Dollar United States Department of Agriculture Value-Chain Analysis 5 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Georgia’s agricultural sector remains critical for the overall food supply and for the Georgian economy as a whole, as well as for the social and cultural fabric of the country.
According to the 2015 data, agricultural production accounts for 9.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), out of it, animal and plant production contribute to 50 percent and 44 percent respectively.

Around 43 percent of the economically-active population and around 95 percent of economically-active rural residents find employment in agriculture; however, only less than 1 percent of economically-active population is formally employed in this sector.
These facts clearly indicate that despite the overall economic progress of recent years and promising processes unfolding in agriculture, much remains to be done to ensure the successful modernization of the rural economy and inclusive growth.
The small-scale and fragmented nature of agricultural production, the chronic lack of technology and know-how, the poor state of rural infrastructure and the difficulties accessing the finance needed to upgrade productive capacities, necessitate further comprehensive reforms in the Georgian agriculture.
The key items of the Ministry of Agriculture policy reform agenda such as measures to improve the competitiveness of rural entrepreneurs, implementation of programmes supporting value-chain development and infrastructure, extension services, promotion of Georgian produce in the domestic and foreign markets, etc.

require efficient policy planning and execution, which will require continuous improvement of the Ministry of Agriculture’s institutional capacity.
This will require further strengthening of the organizational structure and human resources of the Ministry, its agencies and the decentralized Regional Information Centres (RICs) and Information and Consultation Centres (ICCs) to develop their capacity and improve staff performance.
A list of specific training courses, workshops and “on-the-job” support has been identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) during FAO´s previous support programme to the Ministry of Agriculture for this purpose.
In order to empower women and men farmers with proper support measures that will allow them to have better access to good agricultural practices, modern knowledge and technologies throughout their agricultural activities, the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia must improve its capacities to efficiently implement the Strategy for Agriculture Development (SADG) 2015-2020 and its associated action plan.
The project aims at supporting the above-mentioned processes by strengthening the Ministry of Agriculture's capacity for effective policy-making and effective implementation of the SADG, as well as the Rural Development Strategy of Georgia (RDSG) 2017-2020.

It is expected that the project activities will positively impact food production in Georgia and parameters of rural poverty.
The project is funded under the second phase of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD II) and builds on results delivered by FAO through a first project, implemented under ENPARD I.
The first FAO project provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture and general capacity building to the 6 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Ministry’s staff, and provided support for the implementation of specific components of the SADG, such as the development of agricultural cooperation, extension services, improvement of statistical and analytical capacities, as well as value-chain development.
The key achievements of this first project included: i) the provision of technical support for the development of key policy documents such as the Agricultural Cooperatives Development Strategy, the National Strategy for Agriculture Extension, the Rural Development Strategy, as well as the SADG itself; ii) the technical support to amend or update legislation (such as the amendments to the law of cooperatives and the writing of the seed law); iii) the support to develop management tools within the Ministry of Agriculture, such as the Market Information System (MIS), the monitoring and evaluation system, the data warehouse, the extension packages, the scheme for seed certification, the action plan for farm registry or the creation of several working groups within the Ministry of Agriculture (i.g.
for extension, food security, rural development, value-chain analysis); and iv) the concrete training activities to increase the capacities of the Ministry of Agriculture’s staff, including the related agencies and decentralized offices, training courses in English language, rural development, value- chain, data analysis and statistics, Geographic Information System (GIS), Microsoft Access, etc.
The project has also sponsored a number of study tours and participation of officials of the Ministry of Agriculture in international conference in areas such as statistics, rural policy- making, economic analysis, and trade.

The project has contributed significantly to the creation of a two-tier donor coordination council under the Ministry of Agriculture and the subsequent activation of the relevant working groups.
The project also provided support the Ministry of Agriculture for their fulfilment of budget support conditions under ENPARD I.

Based on the support provided to the Ministry of Agriculture under ENPARD I, FAO has developed a very clear understanding of the areas which require further support under ENPARD II, and this project addresses these areas specifically.
For example, FAO will provide further support to the Ministry of Agriculture in the area of extension (for the finalization and approval of the national strategy, following an inclusive and participatory process of stakeholders consultation), in the area of statistics (where improvements are still necessary for the formalization of statistical and analytical functions within the Ministry of Agriculture and in the cooperation with the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat), for more productive use of statistical data in policy making), and in the area of value-chain development (where there is a need to improve the capacities of the Ministry of Agriculture to better analyse value-chains, and identify priorities to promote effective and sustainable programmes and policies).
Given the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture is now gradually acquiring the coordinating role for the implementation of the Strategy for Rural Development of Georgia (SRDG) approved in December 2016, further improvements will be needed for the Ministry to perform its new tasks effectively and to successfully share information with other line Ministries.
FAO will provide support to the Ministry of Agriculture in this process, in close coordination with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which is supporting the implementation of the Rural Development Programme through a separate project under ENPARD II.
7 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” The current project has two outputs: Output 1: to support the institutional development of the Ministry of Agriculture for increased efficiency of its operations Output 2: to assist the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing specific components of the SADG and the SRDG directly targeted by the ENPARD Georgia Programme.
The main project partner is the Ministry of Agriculture, including its decentralized services (such as RICs and ICCs) and the agencies that depend on the Ministry of Agriculture.

The ultimate beneficiaries are farmers, farmers’ associations, cooperatives, rural families and stakeholders such as the private sector or Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs).
Particular focus will be given to capacity building within Government extension and advisory agents that support the development of agriculture and rural communities, to enable sustainability and to maximize impact.

The duration of the project is 24 months (March 2017 – March 2019) and it mainly comprises technical assistance support provided by national and international FAO consultants and technical officers.
Throughout the project implementation, in full compliance with FAO corporate policy on gender equality, environmental and social management guidelines and FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) strategy on gender equality, the approach will be to ensure that both women and men can participate and benefit on equal terms.

The project will also ensure that representatives of the disadvantaged groups from ethnic minorities and other social groups are not discriminated.
8 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 1 GENERAL CONTEXT SECTION 1 RELEVANCE 1.1 Country features related to the assistance Georgia is an upper-middle-income country with a population of about 3.7 million (sex ratio of 91 men per each 100 women), and an average nominal GDP per capita of USD 3 765 as of 2015.
Georgia made a peaceful transition of power following the 2012 and 2013 parliamentary and presidential elections, further demonstrating its commitment to a democratic process.

Corruption indices and ease of doing business indices continue to be favourable.

An Association Agreement (AA) and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement were signed with the European Union in June 2014 and came fully into force in 2016.
Trade with the Russian Federation opened up in 2013 and has since grown significantly.

Georgia is striving to become a go-to trade and logistics hub.

Although the country has done well on the World Bank´s doing business index, there are shortcomings that the Government is committed to address.
In line with the European Union–Georgia AA that came into force in July 2016, the Government plans to harness the gains of deeper integration by promoting the reallocation of capital and labour to more productive industries, building supporting firms to comply with the harmonization of the legal and regulatory frameworks, upgrading state institutions to improve trade facilitation, reducing technical barriers to trade, protecting intellectual property rights, and developing the country’s human capital.
Georgia received a ranking of 16 among 190 economies in “Doing Business 2017 - Equal Opportunity for All”, released in October 2016.

In the region, Georgia ranks third, with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia being the region’s highest ranked economy, followed by the Republic of Latvia.

According to this publication, Georgia is also among the top 10 global improvers for implementing reforms to their business regulations.
Over the course of 2016, Georgia implemented five reforms in the following areas: producing electricity, registering property, protecting minority investors, trading across borders, and reducing tax evasion.

With positive reforms implemented in five topic areas measured by the Doing Business report, Georgia continues to be among the top reformers, accelerating inclusive and sustainable economic growth and fostering resilience to global shocks.
Although there are no legislative norms and provisions preventing women to engage in entrepreneurship or profitable employment, de facto situation points to significantly lower numbers of women in business and other opportunities with high economic potential.

Women are less likely to be landowners or lead farms, and there is a tendency for them to concentrate in poorly paid or non-paid jobs and be at higher risks of poverty.
Despite that women in Georgia have high education and economic activity rates, gender stereotypes assigning women the role of being solely responsible for household chores and care work, are deeply entrenched, especially in rural communities, contributing to structural barriers that prevent women’s full economic empowerment.

9 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Since 2014, Georgia has been facing large and persistent economic external crisis.
Lower oil and commodity prices have reduced growth in the region and with it the demand for Georgia’s exports.

The strength of the Unites States Dollar and the depreciation in partner countries' currencies has put pressure on Georgia’s currency.

Exports and remittances declined in the first half of 2016 amid a weak external environment marked by low commodity prices.
In contrast, the construction and other non-tradable sectors grew by 26 percent, pushing the GDP growth rate for the first half of 2016 to 2.9 percent.

The unemployment rate declined marginally from 12.4 percent in 2014 to 12 percent in 2015, with jobs slightly shifting toward services and away from agriculture.

With economic growth below potential and low inflation, the National Bank of Georgia reduced its policy rate to 6.5 percent in September 2016.
Prudent supervision reinforces the stability of the banking sector, with non performing loans amounting to 2.3 percent of all loans in July 2016.

The decline in exports and remittances, coupled with the slow adjustment of imports, widened the current account deficit from 12 percent of GDP in 2015 to 13 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has financed nearly 85 percent of this year’s current account deficit, while reserve assets have covered the rest.
External debt declined from 107 percent of GDP in 2015 to 100 percent in the first quarter of 2016, after USD 675 million in intercompany loans was written off.

In an effort to support growth, the Government boosted both capital and current spending, thereby widening the fiscal deficit to 2.5 percent of GDP.

There has been significant progress in poverty reduction and shared prosperity in recent years.
The poverty rate, estimated using the USD 2.5/day Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) poverty line, fell from 46.7 percent in 2010 to 31.2 percent in 2015.

During 2013–2014, poverty reduction was largely driven by a combination of strong growth in the construction and non-tradable sectors, contrasting with 2010–2013, when income growth among the poor was mostly driven by increased social transfers.

Despite significant gains in agricultural incomes, poverty remains higher in rural areas.
According to GeoStat, the share of rural population below 60 percent of the median consumption was 25.3 percent, whereas in urban areas 14.7 percent.

The figures for below 40 percent of the median consumption stand at 9.6 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
There is still a strong consensus in Georgia among all stakeholders that agricultural development offers both a considerable investment opportunity and is essential for the development of the country as a whole and particularly for poverty reduction, employment, growth, and food security.

10 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 1.2 Sectoral Context The agriculture sector remains an important contributor to GDP and foreign exchange earnings.
It should also be noted, that given the high share of Georgian population engaged in primary agriculture, its advancement has great potential for poverty alleviation, if the Government's result in the transformation of subsistence production patterns into vibrant market-oriented farming.

Agriculture production is concentrated among small-scale farming households.

According to the results of 2014 Agricultural Census, around 86.5 percent of total agriculture land is being farmed by 571 900 family holdings.
The majority of holdings have small plots; about 77 percent of family holdings have owned, at most, one hectares area of land, and average plot size per family holding has been 1.2 hectares.

State allotment to the agriculture sector has increased substantially during the recent years.
Ministry of Agriculture´s ongoing main activities include human, animal and plant health protection, research, international promotion of Georgian products, support to the development of business oriented farmer groups, rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage systems, and improvement in the availability and accessibility to financial resources and production inputs (planting stock, seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals, etc.).
State funding of agriculture sector and the share in total budget allocations from 2010 to 2016 have increased by 48 percent and 41 percent, respectively (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Factual and planned (for 2016) budgetary allotments to the Ministry of Agriculture Source: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture Annual Report 2015.

Bu dge t a llocation of th e se ctor, m ln .


GEL Agricu lture b ud get sha re in tota b ud get, % Bud get alloc ation Sh are in total b ud get The agriculture contribution to the GDP has been variable and was characterized with a trivial rise of 0.7 percent during 2010-2015 (Figure 2).

11 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Figure 2.

Agriculture Share in GDP 9.4% 9.2% 9.0% 8.8% 8.6% 8.4% 8.2% 8.0% 7.8% Source: GeoStat, estimates 2016.
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* In 1992, Georgia launched a land reform programme.

In the absence of alternative sources of employment for the rural population, approximately 60 percent of the arable land was distributed to households for subsistence farming.

The remaining portion was retained in state ownership, partly for leasing to larger market-oriented farms.
Approximately 26 percent of the agricultural land is arable, while 65 percent is permanent grassland, which is utilized exclusively by ruminants.

Georgian pastures can roughly be subdivided into summer and winter pastures and permanent village pastures.
Part of village pastures are privately owned, while state-owned pastures are either managed by the state (mostly summer pastures located at around 2 000 meters above sea level and frequently in protected areas) or locally by regional or communal administrative bodies.

The responsibilities related to the usage and management of pastures are assigned to the Ministry of Economy, with some aspects of transhumance being in the mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Ministry of Economy pasture registry primarily contains information on private pastures.

There is only limited information on state owned land.

The national cadastre system is maintained by the National Agency of Public Registry which is a separate legal entity under the Ministry of Justice.

The cadastre system is still evolving and not yet fully established.
Accordingly, the ownership and boundaries of land plots, village pastures, mountain pastures, traditional livestock routes and corridors of cattle drives are frequently unclear.

Due to a deficient of ownership documents, challenges are expected to increase as the number of registered plots increases.

Sex-disaggregated data of land ownership is still largely unavailable.

During 2010-2016, total agriculture output showed an increase.
The growth has been most pronounced in agriculture services, followed by plant production and livestock production.

Growth rate estimates of plant production, livestock production and agriculture services have been 13 percent, 8 percent, and 23 percent, accordingly in nominal terms (Figure 4).

12 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Figure 4.

Agriculture output 1,800 1,600 1,400 Plant production 1,200 Livestock production Value of output, mln.
GEL Agriculture services 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 Source: GeoStat, estimates 2016.

FDI in agriculture surged during the last three consecutive years, and the growth rate during 2010-2015 period was approximating 11 percent; also, agriculture share in total FDI has risen, but to a lesser extent, totalling 0.9 percent (Figure 5).

Figure 5.

FDI in Agriculture 2.0% 1.8% 1.6% 1.4% 1.2% 1.0% 0.8% 0.6% 0.4% 0.2% 0.0% FDI, ths.
US$ 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 Agriculture share in total FDI, % 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2010 Agriculture FDI agriculture share in total FDI Source: GeoStat, estimates 2016.

The size of the rural population, as of January 2016, totalled 1 592 million persons, or 42.8 percent of the total population.

In 2014, the proportion of rural population living at less than USD 2.5/day 2005 PPP poverty, was around 43 percent compared to that of 25 percent in urban areas2.
Despite the progress made during the last three years, thanks to increasing investments from the Government of Georgia as well as external support, the sector still faces serious problems and challenges.

Local production is characterized with lack of scale, consistency and quality.
This is due to the land fragmentation, smallholder farmer's limited access to knowledge, education, support resources, modern technology, appropriate agricultural 2 Georgia: Recent Trends and Drivers of Poverty Reduction (FY16 Georgia Poverty Assessment), August 2016, World Bank.

13 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” inputs, formal finance, insurance, etc.

The above reduces the prospects of local products to compete with imports successfully.
Crop Production Changes in production level were brought by changes in planted area and yield levels.

During 2010-2016, production of cereals, melons, fodder crops, fruits, grapes and citrus were characterized with an increasing pattern, while that of potatoes, vegetables, and tea, with a declining trend (Table 1).

Table1.
Table1.

Annual and perennial crop production, ‘000 tons Crop 2010 Grains Beans Potato Melons Vegetables Fodder crop Fruits Grapes Citrus crops Tea 214.8 5.8 228.8 40.9 175.7 37.1 124.1 120.7 52.1 3.5 252.0 36.7 370.0 9.6 2011 2012 Annual crops 397.

4 8.9 273.

9 42.8 185.

198.5 8 66.6 36.9 Perennial crops 187.

3 159.
Source: GeoStat, 2016 Some of these trends are most probably linked to an increased Government support to these crops through the targeted support programmes, as it can be the case with the “Small Farmers Spring Works Support Programme,” (which has mainly benefitted cereal producers), as well as other targeted measures to promote grape and orchards, such as the “Preferential Agro-Credit Programme,” “Plant the Future” or the grape subsidy.
The tea sector only benefited for a specific support programme as of 2016.

Of course, other factors may also have influenced this trend.

The yield levels for the majority of crops either have increased or remained unchanged (Table 2, Figure 8).

The most significant increase was observed in wheat production, followed by barley, melons, and maize in a descending sequence.
This improvement in the yield of maize, barley and wheat, may be attributed to a certain extent to the improved seed quality of cereals that started with the seed certification programme with FAO support under the ENPARD I Programme.

Table 2.
Yield levels, tonnes/hectare Crop Wheat Barley Maize Beans Potato Vegetables GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Melons Annual forage crops Perennial forage crop 15.2 4.5 4.6 12.1 4.6 4.5 13.5 6.2 4.1 24.1 3.9 4.5 22.9 3.1 4.0 22.0 4.2 4.6 Source: GeoStat, 2016 Figure 8.
Compound annual growth rate in yield levels 22% 18% 14% 10% 6% 2% -2% -6% Source: GeoStat, estimates, 2016 Livestock production During 2010-2015, growth was observed in all types of livestock population.

The most significant rise was noticed in swine population, followed by sheep, poultry, beehives, and dairy cattle in a descending order (Table 3).

As a consequence, the total meat output has increased, and it was mostly driven by growth in pork and poultry meats.

Table 3.
Livestock population, ‘000 heads3 Large livestock Dairy cattle and buffalo Swine Sheep and goat Sheep Poultry Beehives Source: GeoStat, 2016 The main reason for this increase in pork production is most probably the recovery of the sector after the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) that decimated the population of Georgian swine in 2007. International Trade Georgia’s main trade partners in agriculture and food have included the Republic of Turkey, and member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the European Union.
Georgia has a DCFTA with the European Union, Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) with CIS members and the Republic of Turkey, and General System of Preferences 3 Unit describing poultry population is million wings 15 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” (GSP) trade regime with the United States of Amercia, Canada, Japan, the Swiss Confederation, and the Kingdom of Norway.

Georgia has been a net importer of agriculture and food products.
The total trade turnover fell in 2015 due to political and economic developments in main trade partner countries.

The growth rate of exports has been higher than that of imports; growth rates of exports, imports and exports coverage of imports ratio totalled 9 percent, 3 percent, and 12 percent, accordingly (Figure 12).

Figure 12.

Value of trade, and export coverage of imports 1,400 70% 1,200 60% 1,000 Exports, $US mln.

50% Imports, $US mln.


800 40% Trade, mln US$ 600 Export coverage of imports, % 30% 400 Coverage ratio, % 20% 200 10% 0 2010 0% Source: GeoStat, estimates 2016 Fifteen agriculture and food products account for about 78 percent of total agriculture exports, with hazelnuts, wine and mineral water making up 50 percent of these exports.
The most significant growth rates were observed in the export of live cattle, fish meal, hazelnuts, mineral waters, and wine (Source: International Trade Centre, estimates 2016).

The main 15 imported products represented about 47 percent of total agriculture imports, with wheat and flowers totalling 14 percent of them.

The most notable growth was observed in imports of swine cuts and feed additives.
There is a significant potential to increase agricultural production and productivity and enhance rural livelihoods.

Georgia is in a privileged position regarding agriculture due to the diversity of climates that allow for a very wide number of crops, the availability of water, the fertility of soils and the low incidence of severe natural disasters in agriculture.

Few countries in the world allow for cultivation of both temperate and subtropical crops.
However, the potential for improvement of Georgian agriculture is mainly constrained by the very low yields of most of the agricultural crops, which reflect that the sector has not yet attracted enough investments to modernize its production.

There is a consensus that for most crops, the input could be easily doubled by improving in a sustainable manner crop production.
There are practices that are well known at the country level, therefore, a number of interrelated response actions should be introduced, such as conservation agriculture (zero-tillage) by minimizing soil disturbance and using surface mulch and crop rotation as 16 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” well as nitrogen-fixing leguminous crops (cover crops), improved crops and varieties to achieve higher productivity and varieties that are more resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses, efficient water management, water harvesting and water productivity (drip irrigation), Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as a first line of protecting crops from pests, agroforestry, crop-livestock, landscape management, afforestation, reforestation, precision agriculture (fertilizer) and others.
intercropping, One of the reasons why agriculture is still largely based on subsistence farming is the chronic lack of investment in the sector.

In this regard, a major opportunity lies in the exploitation of Georgia’s strategic location between Asia and Europe and to access the European Union and other markets that have a high demand for diversified and high quality food products.

Agriculture is also a window of opportunity for advancing rural women’s economic empowerment4.
Despite this potential in agriculture, many Georgians have to spend a significant part of their small income for food.

Many also suffer from low dietary diversity.

This more severely affects women and female-headed households, who tend to be poorer.

Female-headed households are usually single-parent households with fewer active adults that can contribute economically5.
Women, who earn on average 63 cents per each euro earned by a man, have fewer economic opportunities in rural areas of Georgia, including lower access to technology, extension services, land, mobility, knowledge, credit, entrepreneurship and decision-making.

Given that women play a key role in agriculture, especially in family farming, this sector has a huge potential for the advancement of rural women’s economic empowerment.

1.2.1.
1.2.1.

Sectorial Policies The Ministry of Agriculture envisions progress in the sector based on principles of sustainable economic development through the facilitation of private sector initiatives and the establishment of a competitive agrobusiness sector.
Business-oriented agriculture, knowledge transfer, advanced technologies, quality improvement, fostering cooperation with the European Union, import substitution and effective use of foreign aid represent, among others, the key components of the approach taken by the Ministry of Agriculture to develop agriculture in Georgia.
Expected results include the transition from subsistence to more commercially based agriculture, an attractive environment for agribusinesses and an enhanced competitiveness of agricultural products in international markets.

The updated SADG 2015-20206 approved in February 2015 as well as the Action Plan that develops this Strategy are the main drivers for the sector.
The main directions of the SADG are the following:   enhanced competitiveness of rural entrepreneurs; institutional development; 4 This is given the existing involvement and interest raised by rural women in this sector (FAO Country Gender Assessment of Georgia, 2013).
5 National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat), 2015, Women and Men in Georgia: http://www.GeoStat.ge/cms/site_images/_files/english/health/Women%20and %20Men_2015.pdf 6 http://Ministry of Agriculture .gov.ge/En/Strategy 17 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia”      soil amelioration and fertility; regional and sectorial development and value-chain development; ensuring food security; food safety, veterinary and plant protection; climate change, environment and biodiversity.
Special attention shall be paid to economic development activities for regions and municipalities.
Interventions include: i) institutional improvements within the Ministry of Agriculture and its agencies; ii) the development and implementation of flexible legislative initiatives in the process of carrying out the strategy; iii) support for the delivery of effective extension services through RICs and ICCs; iv) building women and men farmers’ capacity to meet the requirements of market demands; iv) integrated development of sustainable rural-agricultural cooperatives; v) the rehabilitation of agricultural infrastructure; vi) improving sex-disaggregated statistics vii) creating effective marketing information systems; viii) and conducting analysis and monitoring improvements in food security.
The SADG also aims to support the creation and development of sustainable and profitable agricultural cooperatives.

It also aims to advance the empowerment of rural women and vulnerable groups by achieving the active engagement of women and youth in cooperatives and entrepreneurship.

The strategy also envisions improving food safety and continuing the process of approximation with internationally recognized standards and norms and improvement of the quality of manufactured products.
The second important policy document guiding the work of the Ministry of Agriculture is the RDSG which was approved in December 2016.

It covers three main priority areas:    Priority Area 1: economy and competitiveness; Priority Area 2. social conditions and living standards; Priority Area 3: environmental protection and the sustainable management of natural resources.
Most of the activities under direct responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture fall under the Priority Area 1, and more in detail in the Objective 1: economic recovery of farming, restructuring and modernization through the diversification and development of effective supply chains and in the following activities:      1.1.1 Facilitation of the opening of new enterprises and/or the expansion of the existing ones in agriculture sector through the preferential agrocredit programme.
1.1.2 Reduction of risks and improving the competitiveness of the agroproduction by providing agroinsurance.

1.1.3 Facilitation of creation of new intensive/semi-intensive fruit gardens and high-quality nursery gardens within the frames of the State Programme Plant the Future.

1.1.4 Facilitation of the Georgian tea production within the State Programme Georgian Tea Plantation Rehabilitation.

1.1.5 Facilitation of agroprocessing and storage enterprises creation.
18 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia”    1.1.6 Modernization/improvement of amelioration systems in rural areas in order to increase the fertility.

1.1.7 Facilitation of the export of Georgian agroproducts through promotion.

1.1.8 Facilitation of establishment of co-operatives and supporting of existing agro cooperatives in order to promote entrepreneurship in the rural areas.
It is planned that the Ministry of Agriculture will work with other relevant ministries with responsibility in the implementation of the RDSG to develop a multiannual Rural Development Action Plan to accompany the Strategy.

The Ministry of Agriculture also has the function of lead coordinator for the implementation of the RDSG.
19 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Progress on the implementation of the Strategy for Agricultural Development of Georgia and its Action Plan The Strategy for Agricultural Development of Georgia (2015- 2020) was launched in February 2015.

The Strategy is accompanied by an action plan covering the same period, which has been revised in several occasions, the last one in October 2016.
The 2015 Annual Report produced by the Ministry of Agriculture points to continued and effective implementation of the SADG and its action plan and to increasing budgetary allocations from the government to the agriculture sector, demonstrating that agriculture is still perceived as a strategic priority for the Government of Georgia.

The implementation of the SADG has been monitored through regular revisions of the action plan.
The management of the Ministry of Agriculture holds a workshop twice a year in which different departments review the implementation of SADG and propose changes in the action plan.

The Ministry of Agriculture is also publishing an annual report which shows the main facts and figures of the actions carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Through the support provided by the FAO under ENPARD I, the Ministry of Agriculture is now developing a proper and comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system which will help to monitor progress of implementation of the SADG and SRDG more accurately.

During the last years, a strong commitment on the side of the Ministry of Agriculture has been identified across all priorities.
Funding has been allocated to a number of key areas included under the strategic objectives of the SADG and its action plan.

A number of key areas which have received substantial support include: value-chain development, support to cooperatives, extension, institutional development, statistics, food security and food safety, which have contributed to positive developments in the local and international markets.
The number of agricultural cooperatives has continued to grow and support programmes have been developed in various areas (hazelnuts, tea, beekeeping, dairy).

The viticulture and viniculture sectors have been further developed, including the establishment of a vineyard cadastre programme.

Significant advances have been made in the provision of concessional credit programmes as well as in the area of agricultural insurance.
It should be noted that in the sector, 139 new enterprises have started operating in 2015 and a further 665 were expanded and re-equipped.

New enterprises are supposed to contribute significantly to increased employment.
Notable advances have been reported in the area of food safety, with a substantial increase in the activity of the National Food Agency (NFA) and in the scales of control operations (in 2015, 140 percent more inspections were carried out in comparison to 2013) and also the number of food business operators that are registered and included in the NFA control plan has also increased substantially.
In 2015, Georgian agriculture and agribusiness continued to grow at a stable pace (approximately 8 percent and 3 percent respectively) despite the unfavourable macroeconomic conditions.

It can be concluded that commitment from the government of 20 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Georgia to agriculture and more specifically to the implementation of the SADG contributed to this positive trend.
1.2.2 The ENPARD Programme The European Union assistance under the ENPARD for Georgia is a vehicle to help accelerate the restructuring of the agricultural sector and the rural economy of this country.

The first phase of ENPARD started in 2011 with financial support amounting to EUR 52 million.

The programme was aimed at supporting the implementation of the SADG, to increase the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, to increase food production and to reduce rural poverty in Georgia.
It focused on five priorities, namely:      supporting and strengthening cooperation amongst farmers through the creation of business-oriented cooperatives; improving access for farmers to knowledge and information through an improved extension system and the creation of RICs and ICCs at the district level; improving the efficiency of key institutions involved in agriculture (through support for the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture, the Agriculture Cooperative Development Agency (ACDA), the Ministry of Agriculture of Adjara, agriculture-related education and research institutions and GeoStat; developing a “geographical indications system”; implementing three Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Economie Rurale (LEADER) Pilot Rural Development projects which served as the basis for future Rural Developments (RDs).
The role of FAO under the first phase of ENPARD has been to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture, capacity building of the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as to support the development of specific components of the SADG, such as the development of cooperatives, the improvement of extension services, the improvement of statistics relevant to the agricultural sector and the development of efficient value-chains.
The key achievements of this first project included: i) the provision of technical support for the development of key policy documents such as the Agricultural Cooperatives Development Strategy, the draft of the National Strategy for Agricultural Extension, the rural Development Strategy, as well as the SADG itself; ii) the technical support to amend or update legislation (such as the amendments to the law of cooperatives or the writing of the seed law); iii) the support to develop management tools within the Ministry of Agriculture, such as the MIS, the monitoring and evaluation system, the data warehouse, the extension packages, the scheme for seed certification, the action plan for farm registry or the creation of several working groups within the Ministry of Agriculture (for Extension, Food Security, Rural Development, value-chain analysis); and iv) concrete training activities to increase the capacities of the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, including the related agencies and decentralized offices; trainings in English language, food security, rural development, post-harvest losses, contract farming, value-chain, data analysis and statistics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Microsoft Access, etc.
and coaching of the ACDA staff and policy unit staff within the Ministry of Agriculture.

The project has also sponsored a 21 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” number of study tours and participation of officials of the Ministry of Agriculture in international conference in areas such as statistics, rural policy-making, economic analysis, and trade.
The project has contributed significantly to the creation of two-tier donor coordination council under the Ministry of Agriculture and the subsequent activation of the relevant working groups.

The project also provided support the Ministry of Agriculture for their fulfilment of budget support conditions under ENPARD I.
There is a consensus amongst the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, the donor community and the stakeholders involved in agriculture that significant improvements have been made in the last years in the capacities of the Ministry of Agriculture; a part of which can be credited to the work done by the ENPARD Programme, in which FAO has been an important player in providing technical assistance to the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The second phase of the programme (ENPARD II) started its implementation in 2016 with financial support amounting to EUR 50 million.

ENPARD II helps to consolidate and builds on the achievements of ENPARD I and continues to support enhanced competitiveness and sustainability of the agriculture system in Georgia.

This second phase of the programme integrates support to agriculture, food safety, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and rural development.
The expected outcome will be the improvement of employment and living conditions in poor rural areas of Georgia, with subsequent impacts on poverty alleviation and growth.

Specific measures will build resilience and improve food security and nutrition through the diversification of rural activities and income sources, particularly for women and girls and the most vulnerable groups including conflict-affected people and ethnic minorities.
The programme will contribute to biodiversity and climate change objectives through measures promoting biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation practices in rural areas.

The general objective of ENPARD II is to assist the Government of Georgia in alleviating poverty, promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, and consolidating and improving democratic and economic governance.
The specific objective of ENPARD II is to promote agriculture and rural development policies and reforms and to improve the delivery of related services to help address basic needs of the rural population in Georgia.

The expected results of ENPARD II are as follows:    Result 1: enhanced competitiveness and sustainability of the agriculture sector.

Result 2: improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, food safety and food quality standards and procedures for inspection and control.
Result 3: improved employment and living conditions in the rural areas through the diversification of the rural economy.

Under ENPARD II, FAO will continue the work that was started under the first phase and which is related to capacity building of officials of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The aim is further improving the managing capacities, as well as providing technical assistance to 22 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” develop some of the areas of work that are been considered as priorities in the SADG and RDSG by the European Union as well as by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The main areas of work which will receive technical support from FAO will be extension, agricultural statistics, value-chain development and climate-smart agriculture (CSA).

Although there has been a great improvement in some of these areas of work during the first phase of ENPARD, there are still efforts to be made to improve the quality of some of the services provided by the Ministry of Agriculture to farmers.
These improvements lie in the terms of extension (the approval of the extension strategy, as well as the improved advice to farmers through extension programmes in the field), strengthening of analytical and statistical functions, collection of information, and efforts in value-chain development (mainly linked to a better understanding of the value-chains and identification of bottlenecks and needs of improved knowledge).
Regarding CSA, this area of work has not been developed under the first phase of ENPARD, but it will be an important area of work in the second phase.

The third phase of the programme (ENPARD III) will start its implementation in 2017 with the European Union’s financial support amounting to EUR 77,5 million.

The purpose of ENPARD III is to promote inclusive and sustainable growth and development, creating employment and livelihoods for the poor and excluded.
Special measures will help build the resilience of vulnerable people in remote regions, and to promote the economic and social empowerment of rural women.

ENPARD III will contribute to the implementation of the European Union-Georgia AA for improved competitiveness of agriculture under the DCFTA, the support to agriculture and rural development, the harmonization of environmental legislation and the improved management of natural resources.
The overall objective of ENPARD III is to assist the Government of Georgia in eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, and consolidating and improving democratic and economic governance.

The specific objective is to promote inclusive and sustainable growth and development, creating employment and livelihoods for the poor and excluded.
The expected results of ENPARD III are as follows:    improved rural economic diversification, employment and services; enhanced competitiveness of agriculture; improved environment, sustainable management of natural resources and climate action.

23 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 2 RATIONALE 2.1 Project Justification The project builds on the previous technical assistance provided by FAO to the Ministry of Agriculture under the ENPARD phase 1.
Technical assistance has been flagged as a key requirement to support the Ministry of Agriculture in improving its work and implementing reforms proposed in the ENPARD programme in order to better serve the needs of the Georgian farmers and other stakeholders.
including the creation of several Although a lot has been done during this first project, many efforts are still needed to enhance agriculture in Georgia, partly as a result of the little attention that this sector has received since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Structural changes have taken place in recent years, agencies that depend on the Ministry of Agriculture, such as ACDA, and the creation of extension services at district level (through the RICs and ICCs).
The sector needs to stabilize many of these changes, which often require cultural changes in the way that the Ministry of Agriculture works and manages its resources.
The best way to support this process, as a complement of the conditions of budget support, is to develop effective technical assistance programmes and expose the officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and decision-makers as much as possible to new management practices and tools and technical knowledge; using the European model as an inspiration, drawing on knowledge and experience gained in agricultural, rural development and natural resource management in the European context.
2.2 Alignment and Strategic Fit Alignment with Government Policies This initiative is fully compliant with the strategy plans of the Government of Georgia in general and the Ministry of Agriculture in particular.

It can also be seen as an engagement of the Ministry of Agriculture to fully support efforts in this direction and ensure ownership and sustainability of the action.
The project is specifically designed to support the implementation of the SADG 2015-2020, and more specifically, with: Strategic Direction 3.2: Institutional Development and Measure 3.2.2 - Supporting an efficient market information collection, processing and dissemination among the different stakeholders actively engaged in the agricultural sector, and Measure 3.2.4 - Strengthening coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture, donor community and other stakeholders.
Strategic Direction 3.4: Regional and sectorial development – value-chain development and the Measures: 3.4.1 - Defining and supporting rural development and investment strategies for each region; 3.4.2.
- Development, implementation and monitoring of sectorial agricultural programmes; 3.4.3 - Supporting the further development of geographic indication schemes and appellations of origin; 3.4.7 - Strengthening post-harvest services, facilities, and operations (handling, storage, grading/sizing, packing, processing, marketing); 24 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 3.4.8 - Improved access to input supply services; and 3.4.9 - Improved access to agricultural machinery.
Strategic Direction 3.7: Climate change, environment and biodiversity, and measure; 3.7.3- Promoting CSA practice.
The project will also support the implementation of the RDSG 2017-2020, and its action plan and more specifically the actions related to: Priority Area 1: Economy and Competitiveness; Objective 1: Economic recovery of farming, restructuring and modernization through the diversification and development of effective supply chains; and more concretely in the following eight priorities:         1.1.1 facilitation of the opening of new enterprises and/or expansion of the existing ones in agriculture sector through the preferential agrocredit programme; 1.1.2 reduction of risks and improving the competitiveness of the agroproduction by providing the agro-insurance; 1.1.3 facilitation of creation of new intensive/semi-intensive fruit gardens and high-quality nursery gardens within the frames of State Programme Plant the Future; 1.1.4 facilitation of the Georgian tea production within the State Programme Georgian Tea Plantation Rehabilitation; 1.1.5 facilitation of agroprocessing and storage enterprises creation; 1.1.6 modernization/improvement of amelioration systems in rural areas in order to increase the fertility; 1.1.7 facilitation of the export of Georgian agroproducts through promotion; 1.1.8 facilitation of establishment of cooperatives and supporting of existing agrocooperatives in order to promote entrepreneurship in the rural areas.
In the same priority area, some activities also fall under Objective 2: Diversification of the Rural Economy through strengthening the agricultural-related value-chain and promoting various sustainable non-agricultural activities.

The component of CSA would fall under the Priority Area 3: Environmental Protection and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, and more concretely on the Objective 3: Climate Change.

Activities used to mitigate the negative impact of climate change.
Alignment with the ENPARD Objectives The ENPARD programme is in line with the 2015 review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), and is coherent with the European Union’s agriculture and rural development sector policy, which is one of the three pillars under the Single Support Framework for the European Union’s support to Georgia (SSF 2014-2017).
This action is fully compliant with the ENPARD objectives, as technical assistance support to the Ministry of Agriculture is embedded as one of the pillars of the support of the European Union under ENPARD, more concretely, some of the priorities of this action were included as priorities under ENPARD I, namely:  supporting strengthened cooperation amongst farmers through the creation of business- oriented cooperatives; 25 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia”    improving access for farmers to knowledge and information through an improved extension system and the creation of RICs and ICCs at district level; improving the efficiency of key institutions involved in agriculture; developing the geographical indications system; Under ENPARD II, the activities of this action fall under the expected Result 1: Enhanced competitiveness and sustainability of the agriculture sector.
Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development (UNPSD) for Georgia This project will contribute towards Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture; and more specifically to the fulfilment of:   Goal 2.3: by 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
Goal 2.a: increase investment, enhance international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, particularly least developed countries.
This project proposal is aligned with the priorities of the UNPSD for Georgia 2016-2020, which summarizes the Government of Georgia and the United Nations (UN) partnership for the priority policy and programme areas for a five-year period.
This project contributes to:   the Focus Area/Outcome 5: Human Security and Community Resilience, and in particular towards the fulfilment of the Outcome 8: by 2020 communities enjoy greater resilience through enhanced institutional and legislative systems for environment protection, sustainable management of natural resources and disaster risk reduction; the Focus Area/Outcome 2: Jobs, Livelihood and Social Protection, and Outcome 3: by 2020 poor and excluded population groups have better employment and livelihood opportunities as a result of inclusive and sustainable growth and development policies.
Alignment of this proposal with FAO corporate strategy at global and national levels This initiative falls under FAO Strategic Objectives 2, 3 and 4.

Strategic Objective 2 - Increase and improve provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner:  Organizational Outcome 201 - producers and natural resource managers adopt practices that increase and improve agricultural sector production in a sustainable manner.
 Organizational Output 20101 - innovative practices for sustainable agricultural production (including traditional practices that improve sustainability, such as those listed as GIAHS) are identified, assessed and disseminated and their adoption by stakeholders is facilitated.
26 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia”  Organizational Outcome 204 - stakeholders make evidence-based decisions in the planning and management of the agricultural sectors and natural resources to support the transition to sustainable agricultural sector production systems through monitoring, statistics, assessment and analysis.
 Organizational Output 20403 - capacity development support is provided to institutions at national and regional levels to plan for and conduct data collection, analyses, application and dissemination.

Strategic Objective 3 - Reduce rural poverty:  Organizational Outcome 301 - the rural poor have enhanced and equitable access to productive resources, services, organizations and markets, and can manage their resources more sustainably.
 Organizational Output 30104 - support to innovations in rural services provision and infrastructure development accessible to the rural poor.

Strategic Objective 4 - Enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems:  Organizational Outcome 402 - agribusinesses and agrifood chains that are more inclusive and efficient are developed and implemented by the public and private sector.
 Organizational Output: 40201 - public sector institutions are supported to formulate and implement policies and strategies, and to provide public goods that enhance inclusiveness and efficiency in agrifood chains.
In addition, this project will contribute towards the work done under the Regional Priority for Europe and Central Asia “Policies for smallholder farming” as well as the FAO Regional Initiatives: (i) empowering smallholders and family farming; and (ii) improving agrifood trade and market integration.
Regarding the FAO Country Framework Programming (CPF) for Georgia for the period 2016-2020, which highlights the working priorities for FAO in Georgia, this project is included in:    Priority Area 1 - Institutional Development: under this priority, FAO will provide technical advice to Ministry of Agriculture on how to introduce quality policy and align its measures with international and European Union standards.
Priority Area 2 - Regional and Sectoral development – Value-Chain Development: under this priority FAO aims at increasing the competitiveness and productivity of agricultural producers (both men and women) in rural areas through improved production, harvest and post-harvest practices, market linkages, addressing farm structures characterized by excessive land fragmentation and logistics supported by improved extension services.
Priority Area 4 - Climate Change, Environment and Biodiversity: under this priority area FAO will promote CSA (with consideration of needed Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures) and environmentally friendly agriculture practices to support sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity.
2.3 FAO’s Comparative Advantage FAO has a number of specific comparative advantages for implementing this action and these are well recognized by the European Union, specifically: 27 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia”          it is a specialized agency of the UN and as such, an honest broker and the leading agency in supporting agriculture and rural development policies; under ENPARD, FAO has successfully implemented the first project of technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture GCP/GEO/001/EC funded by the European Union, as well as the ongoing project on the same topic GCP/GEO/004/AUT financed by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA); FAO has expertise in supporting the review and analysis of the agricultural and rural development sectors worldwide, including countries in the Caucasus; FAO has been working in the region for more than a decade and has been implementing projects in a wide range of agricultural, forestry and fisheries areas (food safety and consumer protection, animal production and health, plant protection, agriculture research, information and knowledge and fisheries among others); as FAO covers various fields, its contribution to the countries links well with some of the agriculturally-oriented projects and programmes the European Union is implementing, such as, the sector budget support, the Pilot Regional Development Programmes (PRDP) and the Comprehensive Institutional Building (CIB) programmes; FAO has adequate decentralized capabilities at country level to develop and implement a project of this kind, with overall technical support from technical divisions at FAO headquarters and FAO REU and operational support in particular operations; successful collaboration with other UN system organizations as a full member of UN Country Team at country level and close collaboration withother organizations, including embassies, and main donors in the country (European Union, ADA, Swiss Development Cooperation [SDC], United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/United States Development Aid Programme (USAID), World Bank, etc.
); FAO has a neutral partner position with a consolidated reputation for both Government, and national and local stakeholders in the region; in addition, FAO can offer multidisciplinary perspectives due to its extensive expertise in various technical areas available both at headquarters and in decentralized offices.
FAO has already implemented successfully the first project of technical assistance for the Ministry of Agriculture under the ENPARD I, and important progress has been made under this first project.

Also significant lessons learned have been identified.
Based on the aforementiond experience, as well as on other FAO projects implemented in Georgia within the scope of technical assistance, FAO has gained a very good understanding of the capacities of the Ministry of the Agriculture and the related agencies in the areas that need most capacity development.

Some of the main achievements have been already mentioned in this document.
However, the development of policy and strategic documents, the implementation of working tools and the improvement of the individual capacities of the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture can be considered as most successful contributions from FAO to ENPARD under the first phase.
2.4 Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement The definition and preparation of this action comes as a result of intense and daily discussions with the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and related agencies at different levels that have taken place during the implementation of the ENPARD I technical assistance 28 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” project implemented by FAO, as well as the twin project financed by ADA but also part of ENPARD I.
Under ENPARD I, the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO jointly assessed the needs of technical assistance by the different branches of the Ministry of Agriculture.

This served as a general basis to better understand the training needs and priorities, and to define the training programme that was implemented under this first FAO technical assistance project.
Also during the implementation of the first project under ENPARD I, FAO has developed a good understanding of the priorities of the high-level officers of the Ministry of Agriculture based on the reporting requirements at highest levels towards the Government of Georgia.

This has been a good complement to the needs identified in the lower grades of officers.
FAO has also done internal research on the capacities that FAO has in terms of technical support to the country office both in REU and in the headquarters in Rome.

FAO team has made a considerable effort to deploy technical capacities in those areas in which FAO has a comparative advantage, drawing on similar experiences of technical support worldwide.
Officers of the Ministry of Agriculture have been exposed to experiences, methodologies and tools that have been developed corporately by FAO or other partners, to identify those of potential use in the Georgian context.
The main priorities that fall under the ENPARD II programme have also been discussed and agreed upon with the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Union Delegation in order to prioritize those areas on which FAO can provide best value for money and be more helpful for the overall implementation of ENPARD.
2.5 Previous work and lessons learned The main lesson learned regarding capacity development of the Ministry of Agriculture, as stated in the ENPARD III document, is that “in order to speed up the necessary changes within the Ministry and make those changes more profound, sustained support is required in order to improve the working culture”.

During many years, agriculture has not been a priority of the Government of Georgia.
This was reflected in the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture itself as well as in the overall investment by the Government in agriculture, which were both very low in comparison with countries with similar characteristics.

This translated into poor service provided by the Ministry of Agriculture to the agricultural sector in general and to farmers and agriculture investments in particular.

Extension services in Georgia were only created in 2012.

The agency for cooperatives was created in 2013.


The support programmes have only been acting since very recently.

For example, the Preferential Agrocredit Programme started in 2013, the Agroinsurance Programme in 2014; the Programme Plant the Future in 2015, etc.

There are two consequences arising from the fact that an important part of the Ministry of Agriculture´s actions are very recent.
On one side, the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture have been often newly recruited to implement some of these tasks, and they may not have enough experience in some technical aspects.

This is also linked to the significant increase in human resources by the Ministry of Agriculture and its agencies in the recent years.
29 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” On the other hand, the promotion of agriculture in Georgia has been accompanied by an accelerated process of modernization of the work of the Ministry of Agriculture, in comparison with the tools and techniques that were used previously.
This has been greatly impacted by the process of approximation to the European Union in general, and by the ENPARD and the CIB Programmes in particular, as well as by the action of other donors.

The process of approximation to the European Union’s acquis communautaire is a very challenging process for any country, but in the case of small countries, it entails a tremendous challenge for the government institutions and officials.
One of the lessons learned during the first phase of the ENPARD project technical assistance implemented by FAO is how to address this reality.

This had direct implications in the way the different technical trainings are conceived and implemented.

Indeed, some of the changes that are being promoted through FAO interventions relate to changes in the management practices within the Ministry of Agriculture.
For example, the creation of management or information tools that need to be filled in a systematic and consistent manner in order to report progress in the implementation of the SADG, require not only capacity building and tools such as software solutions, but also political support from the management of the Ministry of Agriculture on the way staff is managed and its performance evaluated.

Another important point is that policy work takes a significant amount of time to deliver concrete results.
If the process of policy making needs to be participative in order for the final products to be fully owned by the Ministry of Agriculture, this means that the process of finalization of policy documents often take longer than expected.
At the same time, changes in the senior management of the Ministry of Agriculture may also lead to changes in priorities and therefore adjustments in the policy documents, although in general there has been continuity in the main priorities of the Ministry of Agriculture in the recent years.
It is also important to have a broad understanding of the policy work and of the significant role of FAO in facilitating policy dialogue within the Ministry of Agriculture, even in areas that are complicated by nature such as extension.

These areas require a very important commitment of the Ministry of Agriculture as they have significant impact in the staffing and management of the Ministry’s central system and decentralized bodies.
The fact that some policy issues are being discussed in the Ministry of Agriculture is a good start to set the grounds for more clarity in the understanding of a technical matter, that will gradually move towards the identification of bottlenecks and policy options, and finally towards policy documents, such as strategies, action plans or legislation.
Another important lesson learned from the previous work done by FAO is the need to be consistent in the support provided to the Ministry of Agriculture, and to have clear long-term strategic directions and priorities.
While ENPARD documents set a good basis as a general framework, there is also a need to define more in detail some of the policy options in order to make sure that any recommendations will be consistent with main concepts, such as the need for the policy to include the interest of small farmers, women, or minorities.

This will help to modulate the messages that FAO and the Euopean Union Delegation see as priorities in the discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture.
The main purpose of the European Union in general and ENPARD in particular is to support the Ministry of Agriculture in improving its working methodologies and capacities using the 30 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” European Union’s experience as an example.

It is also important (and this can also be seen as a lesson learned in the previous project) to understand that the process of the European Union approximation needs to be gradual.
Ownership is the key issue, and in cases were new concepts are being introduced to the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, there is a need for a proper process of capacity building for them to assimilate those new concepts.

In the previous FAO support, this was the case for several new concepts.
The one in Rural Development was the most significant, as FAO had to develop a very intense programme of training for the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, including several study visits to other countries, to support them to improve their capacities in the area of Rural Development, that will be one of their areas of work after the approval of the RDSG.
Another important aspect from FAO’s experience, is that there is an added value in integrating different concepts, and exploring synergies amongst different areas of work.

For example, FAO has been supporting the Ministry of Agriculture in improving statistics and information collection from the field (for example through the MIS), as well as the data the warehouse to store most of Ministry of Agriculture at the different levels, and the M&E system.
It is important to integrate all these pieces of work into a single platform or software in order to be able to better integrate and cross check information to enable decision makers to have more and better information at hand.
information produced by the An additional lesson learned is how to better integrate the ENPARD work in general and the policy work supported by FAO in particular, in the full picture of the work being developed or promoted by other donors not only in the agriculture sector, but also by other ministries in areas where several ministries participate.

These include Rural Development or Value-Chain Development.
In this sense, it is important to improve communication and information sharing and also to develop tools and mechanisms (donor coordination, interministerial working groups, etc.)

to gradually move to a process of ownership by the Government of Georgia of the different actions developed in a particular sector.

This will also facilitate a process of homogenization of practices and standards for particular working areas.
31 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 3 EXPECTED RESULTS 3.1 Impact The project will contribute to increased competiveness of the agricultural sector, to enhance food production and to reduce rural poverty in Georgia.

Outcome and outputs 3.2 The project outcome will be to improve the competitiveness of the agricultural sector through supporting improved policy-making and effective implementation of the SADG and RDSG.
There are two proposed outputs from this project: Output 1: support the institutional development of the Ministry of Agriculture for increased efficiency of its operations; Output 2: assist the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing specific components of the SADG and the SRDG directly targeted by the ENPARD Georgia Programme.

In relation to Output 1 improving the efficiency of the Ministry of Agriculture, a certain number of activities will need to be completed: Output 1.1.
Developing and Implementing a Human Resources Appraisal, Training and Development Programme Under the previous project, technical, managerial and coaching capacity building was provided to key team members of the central system of the Ministry of Agriculture but also of agencies and decentralized services, following a detailed assessment of training needs across the departments of the Ministry.
Training activities included training courses in English language, rural development, value-chain, data analysis and statistics, GIS, Microsoft Access, etc.

Numerous training courses were also provided to the different working groups that were created during the first project, such as working groups on extension, food security, rural development, value-chain analysis or monitoring and evaluation.
An important part of the work developed with the working groups was related to training and to the sposure of officials of Ministry to new concepts or working methodologies and tools used in particular technical aspects.

The staff of the Ministry provided, in general terms, a very good feedback on the trainings developed, and were also key in the preparation of the training plans and the decision of the key technical areas that would need to be reinforced.
Based on this positive experience and in the lessons learned in the past, this project will continue the same methodology and will build on the results delivered during the first phase of ENPARD implementation.

This will focus on increasing the qualification and skill levels (technical and management) of relevant staff members of the Ministry of Agriculture.
A new training and development programme will be prepared with the Ministry to supplement the training courses provided under ENPARD I with capacity building required to meet the new and emerging needs of the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture.
These capacity building 32 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” activities should be designed to support the Ministry in its effective implementation of the Strategy for Agricultural Development and Rural Development Strategy.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the training plan, the project will assist the Ministry of Agriculture in creating a concept paper for the training of the personnel which might consider blending of budget and donor resources for the training of the staff of the Ministry on a continuous basis.
FAO will support in particular the training and capacity building of ACDA staff in order to ensure the sustainability of the activities already implemented under ENPARD and will deploy national and international expertise to address the particular needs of ACDA staff.
FAO will also offer specific advice to the Ministry of Agriculture on how best to organize and train its human resources within its departments at central level and also within ACDA, Agriculture Project Management Agency (APMA) and the RICs and ICCs in order to ensure that extension services are properly managed and supervised and that there is a clear and efficient coordination and division of labour between ACDA and APMA for the efficient delivery of programmes.
Given the additional responsibilities acquired by the Ministry of Agriculture for the coordination of the RDSG implementation process, it will be very important for the Ministry of Agriculture to organize its work and its department effectively.

The FAO will coordinate efforts with UNDP to provide advice to the Ministry of Agriculture on how best to organize and train its staff for this purpose, including the newly established rural development unit.

Output 1.2.
Output 1.2.

Monitoring and Evaluating the Implementation of the Strategy for Agricultural Development and of the Rural Development Strategy The M&E System will be the core system for the Ministry of Agriculture to report on the implementation of the SADG 2015-2020, and on the Rural Development Strategy 2017-2020.
It will be an excellent basis for a first step for the convergence of the different information systems used within the Ministry of Agriculture and its dependant agencies into a single platform for information collection, analysis and dissemination.
This work started under the first ENPARD-FAO project, and progressed within this project, supporting the review of the action plan of SADG, and working at a first stage with three agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture (ACDA, APMA and NFA) to better define indicators, to propose an annual working plan, and to define the responsibilities in data collection, analysis and reporting in the system.
A single software for M&E was identified and it will be the basis of the work of the M&E for the Ministry of Agriculture.

M&E in such a strict and continuous methodology is a new concept for the Ministry of Agriculture, but the results achieved so far are promising.

This project will continue to expand to the other agencies of the Ministry and will integrate all the work plans into a single software that will allow better and easier reporting of the implementation of SADG and RDSG.
The project team will support different departments and agencies in the development of logical frameworks, measurable outputs and indicators against which progress in the implementation of the Strategy of Agricultural Development as well as of the Rural Development Strategy can be effectively assessed.
It will also enhance communication and 33 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” information exchange within the M&E system, and as part of medium-term and annual programmes.

This system will allow the Ministry of Agriculture to manage its resources, human capital and budgets more efficiently, and will allow timely identification of challenges and more efficient decision-making.
FAO will work closely with UNDP in order to facilitate the M&E of the RDSG, as UNDP will be in charge of the technical assistance related to Rural Development under ENPARD and will have the capacities to gather the information from the different ministries.
FAO will ensure the quality of the data gathered within the Ministry of Agriculture, and will also support the Rural Development Unit of the Ministry to consolidate the data and information gathered from different ministries in order to assess the performance of the RDSG based on the action plan and the RD Programme that will be developed in 2017 with the support from UNDP.
In relation to Output 2: in order to assist the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing specific components of the Strategy for Agricultural Development which are directly targeted by the ENPARD Georgia Programme7, the following main activities will need to be completed.

Output 2.1.

Strengthening Institutions for Agricultural Information Major effort was made under the previous FAO-ENPARD project to improve the quality of statistics and agricultural information available for policy-making.
Also, in coordination with other stakeholders (mainly USDA), FAO supported the Ministry of Agriculture and GeoStat to achieve significant improvements in statistics, such as to facilitate the exchange of information between both organizations, and the harmonization and analysis of the information collection.
The main successful improvements of the work done under the first ENPARD programme are listed as follows:    the project has supported the Ministry of Agriculture and GeoStat in designing and implementing the agricultural census in accordance with FAO standards in 2014.

The official agricultural census results, which became officially available in spring 2016, are comprised of gender-disaggregated data according to FAO proposed core set of gender indicators in agriculture.
The new census is a considerable improvement over the previous one conducted in 2004 both in terms of scope and reliability and allows for production of higher quality regular and on-demand surveys.

FAO has also supported the Government of Georgia to develop the Strategic Plan for Agricultural, Environmental and Rural Statistics (SPAERS) for Georgia, which will be the basis for the work to be implemented in the frame of this project.
This will require joint efforts together with GeoStat and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection.

The MIS was initiated under the ENPARD programme.

It is a reality today, with weekly collection of the data of the main agricultural products and foods at market level in Georgia that allows already for an early detection of any variations in the prices that will allow for decision-makers to take policy decisions.
7 The European Union does not intend to provide technical assistance to support every measure defined as part of the SADG.

The European Union Delegation in Georgia in agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture has agreed that four specific technical assistance components will be provided as part of this programme.
34 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” The improvements made in statistics have been appreciated by the different stakeholders, and also in ENPARD I, which have confirmed the improvement of the work in this sector.
During this project, FAO will support the Ministry of Agriculture and GeoStat to develop some of the recommendations in the last report of the external budget support assessment missions carried out under ENPARD, as well as to take steps towards the improvement of some of the areas that still need extra work, as stated in the SPAERS report already mentioned.

To increase the scope, relevance, and quality of statistical information collected in the field at farm level will be one of the main areas of work.
In addition, it will improve the way information is collected by the Ministry of Agriculture in order to be able to become an official producer of statistics for agriculture and rural development.

In parallel to this, and in close linkage with the M&E System, the project will continue the work of developing a data warehouse to collect and store the information produced in the Ministry of Agriculture.
The project will also facilitate the flow of information between the field and the central units and among the different agencies.

This may have a lot of different applications, not only for reporting, but also for training, improvement of the data collection and dissemination, and obviously data analysis.

The project will also provide technical support to the statistician officers in the Ministry of Agriculture in order to better report on the SDGs.

Output 2.2.
Output 2.2.

Capacity Building to Improve Agricultural Extension Services FAO has made substantial investments under the previous ENPARD project to improve extension services in Georgia.

Much was achieved, such as the creation of the RICs and ICCs in 2012, which was the first step towards an improvement in the advice and services available for small farmers.
The capacities of the staff of the RICs and ICCs, and the quality of the service provided by RICs and ICCs to farmers, the job description of extension officers in the field, and in general the conceptual approach of extension in Georgia, are some of the key areas that have been in the policy dialogue for an important part of ENPARD and still need considerable improvement.

In parallel to this, private input suppliers also have a role in extension in Georgia.
In some areas they play an important role in advising and assessing farmers, and filling gaps when the extension services may not be able to reach the adequate level of advice.

FAO made efforts to support the development of an Extension Strategy.

This has undergone several rounds of discussions and has been subject to many changes.

The approval of the Extension Strategy is a priority for FAO support under this new project.
FAO will support the finalization of the strategy following an inclusive consultation process, bringing all relevant stakeholders together (government agencies, civil society organizations [CSOs], private sector, donor organizations, international organzsations etc.).

The approval of this extension strategy would clarify some of the issues that have been impeding decision-making in this area of work and will allow the Ministry of Agriculture to concentrate on the implementation of key activities.
35 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” The project team will continue working with the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders to finalize a costed extension strategy (a first draft of which was developed under the previous project) for the further development of agricultural extension services across Georgia.
The strategy will include an underlying philosophy and an approach to be adopted as well as organizational and institutional development (i.e.

to define the structure and governance) of the extension services of the Ministry of Agriculture (i.e.

a central system, RICs and ICCs), internal policies and procedures on finance, administration and human resources, staff qualifications, M&E systems.
It is recommended that the Extension Strategy elaborates on concrete priority areas and weaknesses of the extension system, which could be leveraged by the use of information and communication technologies (e.g.

mobile phones for weather and disease forecast, usage of mass media outlets, outreach techniques, arrangement of demonstration plots, and etc.).
Support will also be provided to the Ministry of Agriculture in defining the methodologies, learning systems and extension information packages that will tackle the most relevant aspects for extension service delivery to farmers.

The project will support the Ministry of Agriculture in collecting, summarizing, and regular updating of the most relevant extension material both from domestic and international sources.
Such efforts should lay the foundation for extension material library accessible to all interested parties.

The project will support the Ministry of Agriculture to conceptualize, define and implement extension programmes in the field, based on demonstration plots and other pilot activities, which will be the basis for a more effective advice to be provided to small and medium size farmers.
The relevant recommendations in regards to improvement of extension services, included under the last report of the external budget support assessment mission carried out under ENPARD I, will also be taken into account to achieve Output 2.2.

Output 2.3.
Output 2.3.

Policy support in Value-Chain Development Under the first ENPARD project, FAO provided support to increase the capacities of the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture in some critical areas of work, such as food losses and food waste, contract farming, post-harvest technologies or Sustainable Value-Chain Analysis (SVCA).
The objective of these areas of work, which involved significant training and capacity building of staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, was to train key staff in conceptualizing and performing assessments in value-chains leading to the gathering of better information which would then translate into improved policy in value-chain development.
At the same time, other relevant areas of work were linked with the inclusion of the private sector in the policy dialogue, in order to match the needs of farmers with the needs of the private sector under the umbrella of the Government of Georgia policy action.
This also allowed for identification of important areas of work, such as a business incubator for agricultural start-ups, or the progressive process of the restructuring of some areas of public work towards Public-Private Partnerships like the example of the Wine Agency.
In this project, and in line with Strategic Direction 3.4 of the SADG (value-chain development), FAO will keep supporting the Ministry of Agriculture in Value-Chain Analysis (VCA), as a general area of work that includes improved assessment and analysis of 36 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” value-chains, identification of bottlenecks and areas that need development both in terms of capacity building and training, but also in terms of infrastructure, and the further inclusion of other stakeholders, mainly private sector, in the policy dialogue.
The final objective will be to support the Ministry of Agriculture in formulating evidence-based policies to support advancement of specific value-chains, that can be further supported through the action of the Ministry of Agriculture, through support programmes and policy directions.

For this purpose, the Project would bring in the FAO methodology and expertise.
Also, the policy recommendations in this area will be linked to other goals of the project such as enhancement of capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and GeoStat in generation of statistical information, data warehouse, and various analytical tools for analysis of value-chain performance such as mapping, clusterization, export orientation, relative importance from the food security and economic impact standpoint, etc.
Support for the development of efficient value-chains will benefit the domestic market and also improve competitiveness in selected sectors with high export potential.

This is particularly important for Georgia in the context of new opportunities for export becoming available under the DCFTA.

Output 2.4.
Output 2.4.

Climate-Smart Agriculture CSA has been flagged as one of the priorities of the ENPARD programme, as a positive tool to improve management practices at farm level to make them more environmentally sustainable.
FAO has been supporting the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Union Delegation during the first project of technical assistance to provide technical assessment on how to better mainstream CSA in the action of the Ministry of Agriculture (both the SADG and the RDSG [recently approved]).

This fully complies with the Strategic Direction 3.7 of the SADG (Measure 3.7.3 – Promoting CSA practices) and to respond to emerging issues caused by climate change.
The project will concentrate efforts in the mainstreaming of CSA practices in the action of the Ministry of Agriculture, through the support to the policy dialogue on CSA within the Ministry and also with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, as well as through the promotion and implementation of concrete measures to promote CSA practices in terms of soil and water management, good agricultural practices, soil management practices including conservation agriculture, agrometeorology and IPM at field level.
CSA will become more relevant for a vast majority of Georgian farmers, whose already low yields might further suffer from negative impact of climatic changes unless the necessary preventive and adaptive measures are not consistently used.
The particular focus of the project activities in this area will fall on policies, optimal use and planning of the land resources comprising, inter alia, protection of soil from degradation, protection and enhancement of its productive value, using of necessary methodological approaches to prevent weathering, salinization, build-up of dangerous chemical substances, etc.
The project will work with the Ministry of Agriculture to enable it to design programmes that promote introduction of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) among the wider farming community.

The project will actively work on the development of mechanisms for the use of information from agrometeorological systems in advancement of agricultural extension, namely, early 37 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” warning systems for IPM.
The project will also work on the adaptation of agricultural extension advice and extension packages for specific needs of regions of Georgia, for which the GIS tools will be used.
FAO Coordinating and Facilitating tasks under ENPARD II European Union Delegation Due to its unique position within the ENPARD programme, FAO will also continue to facilitate policy dialogue between the Ministry of Agriculture and to provide the European Union Delegation with expert technical assessments and relevant information in a timely manner.

The current project (like its predecessor) is designed as complementary measures to the budget support component.
As such, FAO will provide the necessary support to the Ministry of Agriculture, to enhance its capacity to better fulfil their budget support conditions.

FAO will also assist the Ministry of Agriculture in the reporting the process linked to the budget support compliance reports and will provide the European Union Delegation with its own independent assessment of progress achieved in the agricultural sector and more specifically in the implementation of the SADG on a yearly basis.
and the FAO will also continue to provide support to the ENPARD Steering Committees and Stakeholder Committees (including drafting of agendas, proposal of themes for the steering committees, sending invitations to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner, moderating stakeholder discussions, circulating minutes, consolidating comments, and supporting the Ministry of Agriculture in fulfilling the action points agreed in these meetings).
38 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” SECTION 2 – FEASIBILITY 4 RISK MANAGEMENT 4.1 Significant risks facing the project There are some risks associated with the implementation of this project, namely:        lack of commitment from the Ministry of Agriculture to approve and develop some of the policy recommendations developed with the project team; lack of absorption capacity at the level of the Ministry of Agriculture in order to develop and implement new policies; geopolitical tensions in the Caucasus or economic crisis could divert the Government's focus and resources away from agriculture; macroeconomic difficulties, which might result in substantial reduction of public funding of agriculture, which in turn might slow implementation of vital reforms and strategic goals under the SADG; a high turnover of the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and associated loss of institutional memory could jeopardize the implementation of the Strategy for Agricultural Development and associated measures; difficulties in the interministerial coordination in areas related to Rural Development; uneven capacities in the different ministries involved in Rural Development to produce information or inputs in a consolidated and comparable level.
In general, the main risk related to a policy project is the lack of commitment of the Ministry of Agriculture to approve and develop some of the proposed areas of work that will lead to policy recommendations, therefore a strong commitment and ownership from the side of the Ministry of Agriculture is needed.
While this risk exists, there are some aspects that need to be taken into account in order to understand this risk and the probability that this will lead to a major obstacle for the success of this work.

As already mentioned, the strong political support to the process of approximation of Georgia to the European Union is a main driver for the policy making of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The AA, as well as the DCFTA, set concrete milestones that reflect the commitments from both parties.
On another level, the budget support provided by ENPARD is linked to the fulfilment of a certain number of concrete reforms, and there are annual revisions to assess the fulfilment of these conditions.
While this project will not duplicate or take over the work to be done by the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that conditions will be fulfilled, the policy and technical assistance work that will be provided by the project will complement the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture, and will also contribute to an effective policy dialogue between the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Union Delegation.
It is important to stress the fact that this is the continuation of the previous work done by FAO under ENPARD I, and the Ministry of Agriculture has already made considerable efforts 39 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” to implement reforms with the assessment and support from FAO.
There is a strong collaboration and trust between the officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and the FAO team, and this will facilitate the policy dialogue to ensure that the Ministry of Agriculture keeps giving the importance to implement structural changes.
In addition to the political support, the Ministry of Agriculture needs to have adequate technical capacities to ensure the ownership and leadership in the development, approval and implementation of state policies and the appropriate capacity building programme to enhance the capacities of the officers of the Ministry of Agriculture to fully own the policy making process at the end of the project.
The absorption capacity of the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture may be one of the bottlenecks that may prevent the full benefit of the project.

This project will put significant efforts into the development of the capacities of the officers of the Ministry, as reflected in the project document under Output 1: to support the institutional development of the Ministry of Agriculture for increased efficiency of its operations.
Moreover, difficulties might arise in the coordination amongst different ministries in areas that concern several ministries.

While areas like value-chain development include the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture, or CSA where the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection and the Ministry of Agriculture are involved, in other areas, such as rural development, several ministries are involved, and this may slow down the process of policy-making.
The support of UNDP, which is currently developing another project under ENPARD to support the area of rural development, will be very important in order to minimize this risk and facilitate a smooth coordination and work to be done amongst the different ministries.
4.2 Environmental and social risks There are obvious environmental risks associated with the incorrect definition of implementation of agricultural policies, from the wrong use or abuse of fertilizers or pesticides procured under a state sponsored support programme, to the wrong approval of legislation without taking care of their environmental impacts.
A good example could be state campaigns of eradication of animal diseases that may lead to massive culling of animals without the proper disposal of corpses or residues of infected animals.

However, if we consider the risks that may be directly attributed to the implementation of this project, and following the FAO Guidelines on Environment and Social Management 8, it can be concluded that the environmental, but also social risks, associated to this project are very low.
Under the FAO projects implemented under the ENPARD programme, GCP/GEO/001/EC and GCP/GEO/004/AUT, FAO has dedicated significant efforts to promote sustainable agricultural practices.

Since 2013, FAO has supported the Ministry of Agriculture to expand the agrometeorology system and link it with IPM models, as well as promoting GAPs.
Environmental and social risks have also been taken into account in the formulation of this project, and these aspects will be taken fully into consideration throughout the implementation of the project in all the components.
8 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4413e.pdf 40 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” Some of the efforts that FAO promotes corporately in order to develop sustainable agricultural practices will be included under the activities in the Output 2.4.

CSA.
The programme will integrate a gender perspective into all stages of its implementation, including, amongst other actions: i) specific activities within associated grant components to promote equality of opportunity and outcomes between women and men; ii) pro-active actions to ensure the full and equal participation of men and women in any farmer organizations that are created; and iii) ensuring that all statistics systems supported by the programme reflect the realities of the of women and men engaged in agriculture.
Human rights and minority issues have been fully taken into account as crosscutting issues in the programme.

Promotion of good governance is a core element of the budget of the European Union’s support approach as well as of the ENPARD approach and therefore, will be fully embodied in the programme, including through the involvement of the sector's stakeholders and civil society organizations.
4.3 Risk Management Strategy and Risk Mitigation Risk Impact Probability Geopolitical tensions in the Caucasus or economic crisis divert government focus and resources allocated to agriculture Such a situation would affect the extent of implementation of the Strategy for Agriculture but not really the technical support required for improved policy-making Medium Absorption capacity at the level of the officers of the Ministry of Agriculture to fully use the policy development support provided by FAO The public funding to agriculture is substantially reduced resulting in lack of resources for effective implementation of the SADG 2015-2020 and RDSG 2017-2020 A high turnover of the Ministry of Agriculture’s staff and associated loss of “institutional memory” jeopardize the implementation of the The recipients of the support are the officers of the Ministry of Agriculture.
If they don’t want, or cannot, fully engage with the project, this could put at risk part of the expected results The pace of reforms targeted at improving the competitiveness of the Georgian agriculture, enhancement of food safety and security, institutional capacity building of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well implementation of specific long-term programmes is significantly decelerated Significant in terms of time and capacity building as well as the understanding and commitment to implementing the SADG and RDSG Medium/Low Low Medium The Ministry of Agriculture team has recently Risk Management Mitigation measures Revisions would be made in agreement with the European Union and the Ministry of Agriculture with greater focus given to improved policy-making and support to implementation of European Union-ENPARD and other donor programmes There is a need to have a good work plan to couple the agendas of the officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO activities with adequate time to ensure their participation The project team would have to focus on policy areas with maximum value for money and finalizing a Strategy and a set of measures acceptable to the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Union.
The European Union budgetary support is dependent on approval and implementation of the strategy for agriculture The project team will work with whoever is nominated within the Ministry of Agriculture and will brief them on project objectives and progress to date and fully engage them in 41 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” SADG and the RDSG and their associated measures changed implementing future activities Lack of coordination or integration of the actions of ministries, mainly in Rural Development, but also in value-chain development and CSA Delays in the implementation, uneven quality of the inputs received from the different ministries, contradictions in the actions of different ministries, overlapping, duplications, etc.
Medium Low quality technical assistance provided due to lack of availability or interest from specialist national or international consultants Insufficient availability of data to enable proper assessments to be carried out for agriculture, market, training and extension surveys Lack of commitment from donors to engage in agricultural policy dialogue or to support the SADG and RDSG The ultimate beneficiaries, farmers, farmers associations, rural families as well as other private sector stakeholders, are not very interested or committed to the project or its objectives Both genders and all social and minority groups are not effectively engaged Significant in terms of ensuring the quality of technical assistance support that can be provided and for the achievement of objectives Not so significant, as many data have already been collected from within Georgia not only by the Government but also by international donors Significant as a substantial proportion of agriculture and rural development funds come from international donors Not significant in terms of assisting the Ministry of Agriculture but ultimately very significant in terms of achieving the ultimate objective of increasing food production and reducing rural poverty Low Low Low Low The project tackles major issues for the ultimate beneficiaries Significant in terms of project impact, justification and project credibility Low To foster coordination, including coordination with UNDP´s ENPARD technical assistance for rural development, and to develop
 effective working contacts and methodologies with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection and the Ministry of Economy for the other aspects The best consultants available will be identified and contracted following the European Union/FAO recruitment procedures, based on substantial contacts and long international and national experience The project team will ensure that all available data is collected, where available, including data from the Government and donors The project team will fully consult and inform the donor coordination group throughout project implementation and to reduce duplication of efforts The project approach to be adopted throughout will be one of participation, engagement and ownership and the empowerment of farmers and rural communities on decisions affecting their own lives The project team will have a priority focus in fully engaging both genders and all social and minority groups in activities 42 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 5 IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS 5.1.
Institutional Framework and Coordination The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for providing an enabling environment for the implementation of this project including support facilities and dedicated staff which are required to maximize the benefits from the services provided under this project.

The Ministry will be responsible for facilitating the day-to-day implementation of this project and will be the primary recipients of all project inputs and outputs.
The European Union, the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO will establish a Project Steering Committee (PSC) in order to supervise the project, and will be composed of:      the management of the Ministry (Chair); representatives of the European Union (staff of the European Union Delegation); the Assistant FAO Representative in Georgia; the National Project Manager (FAO); the International Programme Officer (FAO).
The main functions of the PSC are:      to assess the project progress and guide it strategically; to jointly discuss any critical issues or bottlenecks for further project implementation; to propose and discuss remedial actions to be taken in order to address problems; to issue recommendations affecting timing, or project contents; to endorse the various reports (six-month reports, final report).

The PSC meetings should convene at half-year intervals and/or upon the request of one of its members.
The Committee may invite other organizations/people to attend meetings if they expect valuable discussion, direction and outcomes for the project.

5.2 Strategy/Methodology Throughout implementation of this project, the approach that will be adopted will be one of participation, engagement and ownership.

The ultimate beneficiaries are farmers and rural communities living on low incomes.
The empowerment of rural communities in decision making, and ultimately policy-making and legislation, in areas affecting their own lives is fundamental.

As far as practically possible, both genders and all ethnic and social groups will be equally engaged in the project activities.

Particular focus will be given to capacity building within the Ministry of Agriculture to improve overall policy and decision-making.
This will be delivered through direct technical assistance on a day-to-day basis, as well as designed for particular issues though individual mentoring and group training/development programmes.

Building of local advisory and support capacity will be especially encouraged to enable sustainability of support after completion of the programme.
43 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 5.3 Government Inputs Through the Ministry of Agriculture, the Government of Georgia will:    guarantee full timely and effective support throughout the implementation of the various project phases; contribute to the analysis of available related national data and material with its own professional field/capacity; provide all necessary national and/or regional government authorizations to carry out field activities, taking into consideration that the absence of these authorizations could prevent or delay field project activities;  make available office space for the project staff and provide meeting rooms for official meetings and workshops;  cover the travel costs and daily allowances of Ministry’s staff and national institutions participating on workshops;  make available sufficient and appropriate staff for all the training purposes.
5.4 Technical Support The project will count on technical support from different disciplines of the FAO technical officers in the FAO REU and in FAO headquarters.

This project will use FAO technical support on different technical aspects, such as extension, plant and pest management, statistics, value-chain and CSA.

Gender expertise will be engaged throughout the whole project for effective gender mainstreaming to ensure that both women and men benefit from the project and that no one is left behind.
The FAO Policy on Gender Equality and the FAO Environmental and Social Management Guidelines will frame this support.

The quality of technical support is fundamental in the success of the project, and FAO will deploy technical officers who have been implementing similar policy work in other countries with similar starting positions to Georgia, and who possess wide experience in projects of this complexity.

5.5 Resource Partner Inputs The maximum budget allocated for this project is EUR 1 500 000.
The majority of financial resources will be for technical assistance from short to medium-term international and national consultants, and an administrative support team.

The total budget for the activity will include all the related activities of the FAO team and experts and will be distributed in the following way.

Administration Services Project administration services will be covered by finance, operations, secretarial and other support staff necessary for project implementation and hired as required.
Professional Project Personnel 44 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” An International Programme Officer at P4 level is appointed to support the overall implementation of the project and the operations and to ensure coordination with other FAO projects.

The project will cover 85 percent of the salary of this position.
General Staff The project will count on a full-time administrative assistant at G5 level, as well as on an a part-time administrative officer.
Consultants  National Project Manager, ensuring day-to-day management of the project;  Senior Policy Advisor to the project providing technical advice to Ministry of Agriculture;  a core group of several international consultants (M&E, value-chains, agricultural extension and agricultural statistics);  Short-term International Consultants (on demand basis as required);  National Project Personnel including long-term policy national experts, as well as short term national experts.
Contracts This budget line covers all costs for contracts generated by the project in order to make the support needed for the implementation of technical activities possible.

The contracts will not be used to subcontract the implementation of technical components or activities of the project.

Travel This budget line covers the costs for all travel activities of both national and international project staff as well as travel costs for technical backstopping of officers involved in project implementation.
It includes airfares and per diems for staff as well as other local travel costs.

Training This budget line covers all the costs related to the organization of local workshops with stakeholders.

This includes the translation of documents, consultant interpreters, venues, travel of trainers and of participants in the training.
Non Expendable Equipment This budget lines covers the expenditure for office Information Technology (IT) equipment needed to run the project implementation unit such as laptop computers (including the relevant software, a combined printer, scanner and photocopier, a projector, a digital camera, accessories and other items.
Expendable Equipment This budget line covers the expenditure for office stationary, and other minor procurement actions of low value needed for the day-to-day implementation of the project.
Technical Support Service and Report Costs This budget line covers the costs of the involvement of the FAO technical staff inputs to the project, both from the Regional Office and from FAO headquarters for backstopping, technical guidance, quality control, and any ad hoc inputs that may be required, to ensure the corporate FAO guidance to the international consultants.
45 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” The budget line also covers costs for the preparation and processing of the final technical report of the project as well as the evaluation costs.

General Operating Expenses and Visibility This budget line covers the operating costs of the project for communication, telephone, and office equipment as well as any other expenditure of this kind to be covered locally.
An allocation is made specifically for the visibility of the project under this budget line.

Project Servicing Costs (7 percent of total project size) Project servicing costs cover FAO headquarters and REU costs relating to the administrative and financial management service for the project.
5.6 Management and Operational Support Arrangements select a National Overall responsibility for the project implementation will lie with the FAO Representation in Georgia supported both operationally and technical by FAO REU in Budapest, Hungary.

FAO will Project Manager, a Senior Policy Advisor, an International Programme Officer and a pool of national and international technical policy advisors.
They will be responsible for providing technical support to the Ministry, leading the technical planning and providing specific policy advice and support to the Ministry of Agriculture in relation to the implementation and actions related to the strategy and generally ensuring that the expected programme outputs are satisfactorily achieved.

The overall technical guidance is provided by the FAO Lead Technical Officer (LTO) (REU Policy Officer) and by the FAO Technical Officers for specific thematic areas.
Coordination and operational support is provided by an International Programme Officer.

Day-to-day management of the project in Georgia is carried out through a National Project Manager, who is in close liaison and communication with the European Union, the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO, in relation to project technical implementation and development.
The International Programme Officer ensures: i) the coordination of the project with other FAO activities; ii) the liaison with other FAO offices in headquarters and REU to mainstream technical support to the project; and iii) the operations for the day-to-day implementation of the project.
The project is being implemented with the full involvement of the Government of Georgia and coordinated and monitored at regional and national level in line with the Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the FAO based on the overall Financing Agreement signed between Georgia and the European Union for the implementation of the ENPARD II Georgia programme.
The Project is coordinated by a steering committee composed of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO and the European Union.

This steering committee will approve work plans and reports and undertake strategic programming decisions.

Full-time administrative support (project administration and management, transport and agenda arrangements, translation services etc.)

will be provided to the project team.


Short and medium-term technical assistance will also be provided by international and national consultants.
46 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” The implementation of the project will be coordinated and regularly reviewed by the FAO technical backstopping team, which will be comprised of an LTO and other technical officers, as and when required, to ensure that the results of the assignments are in line with the project document, logical framework and inception report, and that the procedures and outputs of the project are in line with the FAO corporate guidelines.
47 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 6 MONITORING, PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING 6.1 Scope and Purpose The project will define milestones and Objectively Verifiable Indicators (OVIs).

Particular attention should be paid to the simplicity, measurability, adequacy, relevance and timeliness of the OVIs included in the logical framework matrix.
Where possible, the project will collect primary information to set up a baseline that will identify targets for specific indicators.

This will be finalized during the inception phase or during the first months of the project, since some of these primary data will need to be drawn from specific assessments or studies.

The indicators will also be gender-sensitive as much as possible, and there will be an effort to get sex-disaggregated data from the different users or beneficiaries from this project.
Gender expertise will be involved in the establishment of indicators, data collection and M&E.

The work plan will be the another important document to monitor purposes as well as to assess performance from a project management point of view.

The work plan will be finalized in detail during the inception phase, it will be adjusted and updated regularly, and it will be shared for approval in the meetings of the PSC, which will take place at least twice a year.
The FAO International Team Leader will be the person responsible for the right pace of implementation and the successful achievement of milestones and deliverables.

The annual reports will give clear information on the status of the project implementation, and will be subject to approval and endorsement by the members of the PSC.
Because of its importance in the process of shaping the work plan and the logical framework, the inception report will be a key milestone of the first part of the project and will serve to fine-tune some of the activities and expected results.

There will also be an external mid-term review of the project which will evaluate the achievements reached in the middle of the implementation period.

The mid-term review will help to bring to the table an external and objective opinion on the results achieved.
A final evaluation of the first phase of the project will take place with a tangible evaluation of results against the initial proposed deliverables.

In addition to general reports, there will be individual reports linked to specific activities and outputs.

The project should have a strong focus on achievements of results, and there should be deliverables produced in all stages of the project to ascertain the technical quality of the support provided.
The Swiss Cooperation Office, with separate funding, will support monitoring of the project by offering the services of a backstopping officer, which will also help to improve the monitoring products.

6.2 Reporting The ultimate reporting responsibility will lie with the FAO Representation in Georgia with close support from the FAO REU.
Direct responsibility for preparing all reports lies with the 48 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” National Project Manager with support provided by the Programme Officer and REU LTO as well as technical officers as applicable.

All reports shall be written in English.

If necessary, working documents and reports should be translated into Georgian.
Formats for the Inception, Interim, Final and Mission reports shall follow FAO guidelines and their Table of Contents shall be agreed on.

Reports will include: Annual Progress Reports: annual progress reports shall be prepared during the period of execution of the contract.

These progress reports will be prepared as per FAO´s reporting procedures, sent to the donor and presented to the PSC by the National Project Manager.

After required adjustments, the reports will be endorsed by all parties.
Annual Certified Financial Reports: annual certified financial reports of a given year will be provided to donor as per the dispositions defined in the funding agreement.

The certified financial reports will be produced following FAO internal regulations in the budget at parent level FAO Format, and will be produced in USD.
Mission reports of the experts: experts will produce standalone reports in addition to their contributions to other documents to be elaborated under the Terms of Reference of their individual contracts.

Reports of short-term experts will be delivered within 15 days of the end of each of their missions.
Where experts subdivide their assignment in Georgia into several missions, each of the visits or each two-week mission period shall be concluded by a report outlining the activities performed and outputs produced.

The reports shall contain an outlook on the subsequent mission and specify anticipated outputs, related activities and duration.
When needed, because of the complexity of the task, a peer review will be organized by FAO to make sure that the technical content of important reports is evaluated with several specialists.

In any case, all the reports of a technical nature produced by international consultants will follow a strict process of technical clearance by the FAO technical officers in the REU or in FAO headquarters in Rome.
Technical Reports: technical reports on specific sectors/issues will be produced by international consultants or by the National Project Manager, and will follow the process of peer review (optional) and technical clearance (compulsory) as stated above.

Final Report: the final report to be delivered at the end of the project is composed of a final narrative report and a final financial report.

The final narrative report summarizes the project implementation history.
The report contains an executive summary, a description of all documents prepared (reports, proceedings from conferences, the minutes of relevant meetings, findings from workshops), all previously approved reports, documents and other on electronic data medium, the results, the lessons and a judgement of the sustainability of the measures taken.
The certified final financial report will be submitted to the donors six months after the finalization of the project, to allow for the closure of pending accounting actions for a large 49 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” and complex project as this one.

The financial report will be produced following FAO internal financial regulations in the Budget at Parent Level FAO Format, and will be produced in USD.
Other reports and documentation: in addition to the above formal reports, FAO will develop training documents, instruction manuals and software documentation as required.

The software source code and user rights restricted to Georgia will be handed over to the beneficiary (Ministry of Agriculture).
Reporting will be carried out in compliance with the Special Conditions to the General Conditions, the Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement (FAFA) and the Joint Guidelines on reporting obligation under the FAFA.

Provisions included in the relevant framework agreements signed with the European Union will apply.

7.

PROVISION FOR EVALUATION The PSC will meet regularly to review progress and advise on future implementation.
This Steering Committee will meet at least two times a year and will involve the European Union Delegation and the Ministry of Agriculture as well as FAO.

On top of this, FAO will commission one external and independent mid-term evaluation during the lifetime of the project.
The mid-term review will assess delivery of results against the work plan, logical framework and indicated milestones, as well as analyse any deviations from the original plan and propose recommendations and amendments to overcome any bottlenecks or delays in implementation.

The report produced by this mid-term review will be analysed in the PSC, endorsed and the recommendations enforced.
This mid-term review may lead to changes in any of the original management documents (logical framework, work plan, milestones) to adapt to the review.

50 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” SECTION 3 - SUSTAINABILITY OF RESULTS The main objective of the project is to provide capacity building to the Ministry of Agriculture and other key institutions engaged in the sector.
It will therefore be of outmost importance to ensure the Ministry after the end of the project.

sustainability of policy making within the institutional The officers of the Ministry of Agriculture will need to be in a position to continue delivering the foreseen results when donor assistance ends.
To ensure this, the project is mainly focused on capacity building of the officers of the Ministry, and all the activities are conceptualized in such a manner that FAO will provide the grounds for training and exposure to new methodologies so that the officers of Ministry will be able, since the beginning, to use these tools and methodologies by themselves.
The improvement in policy-making capacities within the Ministry of Agriculture is one of the main priorities of the senior officers of the Ministry, so there is a firm commitment to maintain and enhance the work that will be initiated by the project in terms of policy support to some of the key areas of work of the SADG 2015-2020.

8.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY The main objective of the project is to support the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia to implement the SADG 2015-2020.
This is obviously linked to the desire of the Government of Georgia to improve the productive sector of agriculture, which has many positive economic and social implications.

A more effective agricultural sector will be the best means to reduce rural poverty in Georgia; if farmers can produce more and better, they will have a higher income and this will allow for them to improve their lives.
However, this may also have environmental risks, as already mentioned, and environmental sustainability is one of the areas that need to be very carefully looked at when proposing policy actions.

While a particular action in agriculture may have a very positive impact to boost production, this may have long lasting repercussions in terms of pollution of water, loss of soil coverage, soil erosion, desertification or loss of biodiversity.
Many of these aspects are already taken care of in the project, as CSA include good practices in terms of use of water and use of soil, and some of the other activities proposed also go in the same direction, such as the promotion of GAPs, agrometeorology or IPM.

However, FAO will keep environmental sustainability at the core of the policy-making by the project, to ensure that any possible risks are properly taken into account.
51 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” 9.

GENDER SUSTAINABILITY In Georgia, rural women have high education and economic activity rates but their access to productive assets, modern technologies, information, markets and decision-making is limited compared to rural men.
Even though agriculture is often the main economic activity for the whole family, 64 percent of rural households consider a man to be a “head” of the household, responsible for taking decisions and controlling the family budget9.

The property is also more often registered on his name which affect women’s de facto enjoyment of ownership rights, as well as their economic status, prospectives and opportunities.
The women’s employment rate is 51 percent compared to 77 percent of men, and women tend to concentrate in informal employment or work as unpaid family workers.

Gender-based challenges are even greater for the disadvantaged groups, including the youth, the elderly, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), ethnic minorities and those living in remote areas who constitute the most socially and economically marginalized and excluded groups in the country.
The FAO programming and field interventions are framed by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), General Recommendations on the rights of Rural Women10; the SDGs’ principle of “Leaving no one Behind’’; the FAO Policy on Gender Equality11; the FAO Regional Gender Equality Strategy for Europe and Central Asia12; the system-wide Action Plan for Implementation of the United Nations CEB Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP)13 and the FAO Environmental and Social Management guidelines14.
To address the issues related to unequal access to the productive resources, this project will be specifically informed by the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure15 (and its technical guidelines).

Across its work, FAO ensures in all projects that no-harm is caused to women and to the disadvantaged groups and takes every opportunity and action to contribute to closing the gender gap.
To ensure sustainability of the project results, a national gender expert will be engaged right from the start of the project, with the support from the FAO REU gender team and in close collaboration and consultation with FAO Georgia.

Specifically, the national gender consultant, 9 Shengelia, Nino and Kereselidze, Mziya.

Gender statistics in agriculture and rural development.

Presentation at the FAO regional conference, Almaty, 22-23 June 2016.
10 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (March 2016), General Recommendation No.
34 on the rights of rural women: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CEDAW %20Documents/1_Global/INT_CEDAW_GEC_7933_E.pdf 11 http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i3205e/i3205e.pdf 12 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5501e.pdf 13 UN system-wide policy on gender equality and the empowerment of women: http://www2.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/how%20we %20work/unsystemcoordination/un-swap-framework-dec-2012.pdf?
v=1&d=20141013T121441 14 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4413e.pdf 15 /Shared 52 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia” in coordination with the Project Team Leader and other project team members, will be responsible for the implementation of the following activites:         conducting a situational gender analysis to contribute to the project’ gender-sensitive work plan.
This will include collecting relevant data and formulating gender-sensitive indicators.

Data disaggregated by sex, age and other social determinants, will be collected by desk review and field visits to identify the most vulnerable groups and propose measures to address their status in the process of the project implementation.
The burdens of women and of those most vulnerable to engage in the project will be identified and a plan on gender mainstreaming and on Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) will be designed; contribute to the development of the project gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation plan, and participate in the monitoring and evaluation activities; act as a resource throughout the project implementation, engaging in training and awareness raising activities when necessary; analyse the communication channels with women and men farmers and farmer associations and identify barriers that may limit women’s access to information and impede their participation in the project activities; ensure gender perspective in all project documentation, activities, outputs and outcomes and visibility materials, conducting gender analysis when required; draw attention of the project management to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of women and men and advise on the measures to actively engage them in the project so both women and men can, at the end, benefit from its results; ensure that during the implementation of the training plan, as well as other activities, both women and men farmers are reached and mobilized; ensure that national stakeholders with gender relevant experience and expertise are engaged and participate during the M&E of the project.
This project will be fully committed to promote gender equality in agriculture and rural development.

This crosscutting issue will be targeted at all stages of the project implementation, with the objective of reducing the gap between rural women and men.

The approach is based on the SADG and its action plan which reflect the principles of the National Gender Strategy and related action plan.
The main targets of the FAO support for gender equality coincide with the general principles specified in the ENPARD programme, namely:    ensuring women secure their rights over land, and that the criteria for granting farmer status during farm registration processes do not discriminate them; ensuring that needs of minority women, IDPs and women in labour (especially those with children) in rural areas are properly assessed and appropriate support provided; ensuring women and men have equal opportunities to access agricultural extension information and support;  promoting incentives and preferential access to women and vulnerable groups for the  formation of cooperatives and other rural businesses; enhancing access of women and vulnerable farmers to programmes offering rural machinery and equipment; 53 GCP/GEO/010/EC "ENPARD II Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia”  ensuring that rural development relevant data is disaggregated by sex and other criteria in the statistical system of GeoStat.
54 ANNEX 2: LOGICAL FRAMEWORK MATRIX Indicators Indicators Baseline Target  Georgian food production level  Level of rural poverty  Level of conformity with European Union standards  Extent of implementation of the SADG and RDSG  Competitiveness of small farmers and farmer organizations Means of verification (MOV)  Government food production statistics  National and international rural poverty indices  Number of laws and procedures in line with the European Union practice  M&E system to monitor the implementation of SADG and RDSG  Agricompetitiveness indices Results Chain Impact To contribute to the increased competiveness of the agricultural sector, to increase food production and to reduce rural poverty in Georgia Outcome To improve the competitiveness of the agricultural sector through supporting improved policy-making and effective implementation of the Strategy for Agricultural Development in Georgia and of the Rural Development Strategy of Georgia Output 1: to support the institutional development of the Ministry of  Effective system in place for M&E the Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture and progress in relation to the No M&E system available M&E system operational  M&E reports  Training reports Assumptions  The Government remains committed to implementing the SADG and RDSG  Information flow remains open between the Government, FAO and the European Union  Donors continue to support implementation of Strategy actions  Ministry of Agriculture to maintain the M&E as Agriculture for increased efficiency of its operations Output 1.1.
Developing and implementing a human resources appraisal, training and development programme Output 1.2.

M&E the Implementation of the Strategy for Agricultural Development and of the Rural Development Strategy Output 2: to assist the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing specific components of the SADG and the SRDG directly targeted by the ENPARD Georgia Programme.

Output 2.1.

Strengthening Institutions for Agricultural Information Output 2.2.
Capacity Building to Improve Agricultural Extension Services Output 2.3.
Policy support European Union-funded Sector Policy Support Programme  Development and implementation of a human resources appraisal, training and development programme At least 30% of the staff of the central system of the Ministry of Agriculture participates in targeted training a priority and ready to mainstream its use  Ministry’s staff available and committed to participate in training courses  Strengthened institutions for agricultural information  Capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture to deliver effective agricultural extension services to farmers is enhanced  Capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture to pursue sustainable value-chain development programmes is enhanced  Awaraness of farming community in climate-smart agriculture enhanced Ministry of Agriculture is collecting data and statistical information on ad hoc basis and does not apply the necessary standards.
No extension strategy approved.

Lack of holistic approach to value-chain analysis.

Climate-smart agriculture Ministry of Agriculture to produce statisticsin accordance with standards and protocols agreed with GEOSTAT Extension Strategy approved and extension piilots developed in the field Value-chain analysis implemented.
Climate-smart agritulture action  Existence of standards and protocols agreed with GeoStat  Extension Strategy approved  Value-chain analysis available  CSA-action plan  Government of Georgia and Ministry of Agriculture’s commitment to implement these areas of the SADG and RDSG: statistics, extension, value chain development and climate-smart agriculture in Value-Chain Development Output 2.4.
Climate- Smart Agriculture not integrated into sadg and RDSG plan developed ANNEX 3: WORK PLAN ANNEX 4: BUDGET Output Output 1: To support the institutional development of the MoA for increased efficiency of its operations Total Output 1 Output 2: To assist the MoA in implementing specific components of the SADG and the SRDG directly targeted by the ENPARD Georgia Programme.
Total Output 2 Output 3: Crosscutting and management inputs Parent Account Description Parent Account Total Budget EUR Year 1 EUR Year 2 EUR Consultants (*) Technical Support Services (*) Travel Training General Operating Expenses (*****) Consultants (*) Technical Support Services (*) Travel Training Salaries Professional (*) Salaries General Service (*) Consultants (*) Contracts (**) Expendable Procurement (***) Non Expendable Procurement (****) General Operating Expenses (*****) Total Output 3 Subtotal Component: Component Specific Inputs Communication and Visibility 47.150 23.575 23.575 531.480 1.401.869 215.349 648.186 268.981 706.533 Subtotal Component: Indirect Costs Indirect Costs (7%) 5029 98.131 98.131 45.373 45.373 49.457 49.457 Grand Total 1.500.000 693.559 755.991 (*) All expenses relate to FAO staff (**) Contracts relate to contracts that are not linked to any technical action of the project, but administrative or support contracts such as Contracts with Communication providers or service providers (i.e.
internet, etc.)

(***) Non expendable procurement relates to items needed for the project implementation such as computers, other IT equipment and software, and some office furniture.

(****) Expendable procurement relates to expendable items needed in day to day operations, such as stationary, low value items for offices, etc.
(*****) General Operating Expenses relate to day to day office running costs, such as electricity, internet, car fuel, supplies and insurances, petty cash for small procurement locally, etc.
ANNEX 5: ToRs OF MAIN POSITIONS Annex 1: Terms of Reference of main HHRR positions in the project: A.- Professional Positions:  Programme Officer P4 level (project cycle and operations support) (Draft) B.- General Staff Positions:  Finance and Administration Associate - Project GCP/GEO/010/EC (Draft) C.- National Project Personnel (Under Consultants Budget Line) Senior National Policy Advisor/Deputy National Project Manager  National Team Leader/National Project Manager   National Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant (Draft)  National Policy Advisor – Wine Value Chain  National Policy Advisor – Data Management and Statistics  National Policy Advisor – Extension Policy  National Policy Advisor – Liaisons with Donors  Junior National Expert in Agricultural Policy  National Communications Consultant (Draft)  Project Officer (Draft) Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference Programme Officer P4 level (project cycle and operations support) Reporting Lines Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Georgia (FEGEO), in close collaboration with the Team Leaders of respective projects and the rest of FEGEO project staff, as well as the FEGEO staff in charge of administration and finance.
Technical Focus The incumbent will support the operations, management, technical support and coordination of the EU funded FAO projects under the ENPARD Programme (85% of the working time) and support to other Trust Fund (TF) projects in FEGEO (15% of working time).

Key Results Improved Operations and monitoring of Trust Fund projects in Georgia, specially of the EU funded projects under the ENPARD Programme.
Key Functions      Acts as the programme operations officer with direct supervision for the national and international staff recruited for project operations Coordinates the programme and reviews the assessments of issues and trends for the implementation of projects; identifies priorities, problems and issues of the operational nature to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and initiates follow-up actions; Supports the Budget Holder in the projects operations and management in the areas of finance, administration, budget monitoring, reporting and human resources; Coordinates the development and update of project management, monitoring and reporting tools, such as workplans, procurement plans, HHRR plans, and budget management, monitoring and reporting.
Develops, in coordination with other technical and administrative units of FAO, corporate administrative procedures and operational guidance for the implementation of the programme consistent with FAO corporate policies.
 Maintains a close liaison and communication with the resource partners, MoA and FAO in relation to the programme implementation and development, in close collaboration with the FEGEO project teams, with a special focus on the EU funded ENPARD programme; In support to the programme, maintains constant communication on technical matters, and facilitates contacts with FAO technical units in both the Regional Office and HQ as required for the implementation of the projects including the timely identification and deployment of expertise in close collaboration with the Team Leaders of respective projects; Participates and provide technical support to the activities of the coordination bodies with the different donors and stakeholder platforms, such as ENPARD Stakeholders Committee and ENPARD Steering Committee, as well as other platforms with donors or other stakeholders Supports Project Managers/Team Leaders preparation of progress and final narrative and financial reports for the projects.
Coordinates the overall overlook of the financials of the projects, including proposed budget revisions and financial reporting, as well as the update of the project information in FPMIS.
Coordinates the technical input of national and international consultants from different projects and find synergies amongst the different projects under the umbrella of the FAO programme Performs any other related duties       Minimum Requirements   Advanced university degree in agriculture and/or economics or a related field Seven years of relevant field experience in project/programme planning, implementation, and monitoring of agricultural policy development projects at international level, with relevant experience in administrative, operational and financial procedures.
Five years of relevant field experience in the management of EU funded projects/programmes.

  Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Russian, Arabic or Chinese Competencies   Results Focus Teamwork     Communication Leading, Engaging and Empowering Partnering and Advocating Strategic Thinking Technical/Functional Skills  Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is essential.
 Extent and relevance of experience in programme/project management, in the management/operation of small-, medium and/or large-scale projects at country and regional levels, experience in policy-driven development projects is essential In-depth knowledge of administrative, operational and financial procedures related to project management and operations; particular experience in EU funded projects is essential.
Extent and relevance of experience and skills in project identification, programme and project formulation, analysis, planning and implementation Knowledge of field programme issues in the REU Region is considered a strong asset Ability to plan and organize work and participate in a multi-disciplinary team Previous experience in Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries is essential, experience in Georgian agricultural sector would be a strong asset Extent of knowledge of the socio-economic conditions and institutions and of development-related policies and procedures of the country of assignment Demonstrated analytical, negotiating and advisory skills         Working knowledge of Russian is desirable  Computer literacy with spreadsheets, databases and electronic programmes is an asset Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference Title: Finance and Administration Associate - Project GCP/GEO/010/EC (Draft) Level: G-5 Job Role, Duties and Responsibilities The Finance Associate (G-5) provides administrative, financial and budgetary support to the activities of the Project GCP/GEO/010/EC.
He / she works under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative in Georgia.

He / she works with wide latitude for independent action and gives guidance to clerical and junior administrative staff.
The incumbent performs the following duties:     Support the management and administration of financial records and monitoring systems for the project; monitor project and programme accounts; maintain imprest accounts; reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data for day-to-day transactions and reports; manage the project petty cash.
Provide and coordinate the retrieval, entry, selection and analysis of data from a wide variety of sources, including FAO’s corporate systems and data bases (e.g., GRMS, the Country Office Information System (COIN), Datawarehouse, et al.

); verify accuracy of data and documents; make necessary calculations.

Verify availability of funds under the project; ensure that operational expenditures are in accordance with approved budget and that all committing documents are complete and consistent.
Independently compose and finalize correspondence of administrative nature; initiate and draft correspondence to verify data, answer queries, and obtain additional information on transactions and financial matters, as required.

 Maintain detailed records of budget estimates, obligations and available balances; participate in the consolidation of budget proposals; prepare financial data for budget estimates and financial planning.
Prepare recurring reports on programme, project and office accounts, report variations from budgets; prepare special reports on budgetary performance.

  Monitor the receipt of Government contributions and the transfer of ownership of the Organization’s equipment.

 Maintain liaison with local banks and financial institutions.
 Advise other staff in the area of office / administrative management; actively support the streamlining of procedures and practices and the introduction of new information technologies.

Advise international staff on administrative and financial matters.

  Make administrative arrangements for the project and perform administrative duties to ensure security and office maintenance.

Perform other related duties as required.


 Qualification Requirements Education: Advanced university degree in business administration, finance, accounting and office management.

Experience: Five years of progressively responsible administrative, accounting and office management experience.

Languages: Working knowledge (level C) of the FAO official language used for communication within the country (English) and working knowledge of the local language (Georgian) is required.
IT Skills: Ability to effectively use standard office software, such as MS Office (Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, Power Point, Exchange) et al.

Ability to effectively use accounting software and information systems.

Office Management Skills: Good knowledge of FAO’s operational guidelines and administrative project / programme management procedures.

Systematic and efficient approach to work assignments, good judgement and analytical ability.
Ability to structure and convey information in an appropriate, professional format.

Interpersonal Communications and Teamwork Skills: The incumbent must possess a cooperative spirit, flexibility and openness to work in an international environment within a team of staff with mixed skills and different national and cultural backgrounds.

Tact, courtesy and cultural empathy are essential personal attributes.
Since the incumbent has access to confidential and sensitive information, a high level of trustworthiness is needed.

Desirable qualifications Knowledge of FAO’s corporate systems and data bases, such as GRMS or the Country Office Information System (COIN).

Administrative and Office Management Skills: Actively support new ideas to streamline working methods.

Recognize sensitive / confidential material and handle it with a high level of discretion.
Exercise diligence and care in dealing with financial resources and expenditures.

Ability to carry out and manage a high number of diverse and complex assignments and to cope with an increased volume of work during peak periods.

Interpersonal Communications and Teamwork Skills: The incumbent should be able to establish good working relationships within and outside the Organization.

He / she should be able to give productive advice and feedback to other staff.
Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for * Name: TBD Job Title**: National Team Leader/National Project Manager Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: Mamuka Meskhi Title: Assistant FAO Representative General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The National Team Leader shall operate under the overall guidance and responsibility of the FAO Representative in Georgia; direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative and the Senior Field Programme Officer, REU (LTO); technical supervision of the relevant technical backstopping officer in REU and in close collaboration with other international and national consultants, FAO Representation Office and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in Georgia.
Duties and responsibilities:  Overall day to day management of the capacity building/support program to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia;  Maintaining close liaison and communication with the EU, MoA and FAO in relation to the program implementation and development;  Support to the MoA in relation to implementation of project activities and actions related to the Strategy of Agricultural Development of Georgia; namely statistics, extension, value chain development and climate smart agriculture.
 Support to the MoA to run the policy group and monitoring and evaluation system for actions related to the Strategy for Agricultural Development;  Support to the MoA in assessing training needs and designing a staff training and human resources development programme;  Preparation terms of references for short and medium term consultants;  Management and coordination of local team members, international and national consultants;  Inputs into overall coordination of the ENPARD programme;  Support the MoA in further strengthening an effective donor coordination mechanism;  General promotion and representation of the project, objectives, outputs and results throughout Georgia and at regional and international forums;  Responsibility for overall preparation, quality and timeliness of inception, progress and final reports;  Presentations to any project steering group established to oversee project progress;  Facilitate that the project objectives and outputs are satisfactorily achieved;  Other duties as required.
Qualifications:  University degree up to masters levels in agriculture and/or economy or related field;  At least 7 years of relevant practical field experience in agri-policy development;  Computer literacy with spreadsheets, databases and electronic programmes is required;  Quality of both oral and written communication skills;  Demonstrated ability to work as manager of international projects in the country Fluency in English and Georgian key performance indicators Expected Outputs: As defined in the Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the contract Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for * Name: TBD Job Title**: Senior National Policy Advisor/Deputy National Project Manager Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: TBD Title: National Project Manager/Team Leader General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The Senior National Policy Advisor/Deputy National Project Manager shall operate under the overall guidance and responsibility of the FAO Representative in Georgia; direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative, REU (LTO) and the National Team Leader/National Project Manager; technical supervision of the relevant technical backstopping officer in REU and in close collaboration with other international and national consultants, FAO Representation Office and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in Georgia.
Duties and responsibilities:  Support the Ministry of Agriculture in the area of policy analysis and policy advise on specific issues related to the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan;  Support the Ministry of Agriculture in the area building up a analysis/advisory function capacity, including relying on the relevant departmental resources of the Ministry;  Support the Ministry to identify the priority areas for policy intervention by setting up the relevant information gathering/analysis/presentation mechanism based on the criteria of relevance, reasonability, efficiency, and short and long term policy implications;  Prepare position papers on selected subjects at the request of the Minister, as well as in relation to the strategic directions outlined by the Strategy and Action Plan;  Advise the Minister and respective units of the Ministry regarding specific policy issues and facilitate also the information gather on specific topics from various units of the Ministry and eventually other institutions required;  Define the need the requirements/deliverables for outside experts and together with NPM/TL ensure that deliverables are met; in concrete policy directions, define for outside expertise  Actively liaise with local farming, business, and NGO community for the purpose of broadening the project’s presence in the field and support to the Ministry from the outside agriculture community;  Together with NPM/TL, actively liaise with the Donor Community in order to ensure its activities are synchronized with the Ministry’s policy stance and major directions;  Together with NPM/TL actively liaise with the International Consultants, MoA and other stakeholders in support to advancement of agriculture and rural development policies in Georgia; Any other duty as assigned by the NPM/TL Qualifications:  University degree up to masters levels in agriculture and/or economy or related field;  At least 7 years of relevant practical field experience in agri-policy development;  Computer literacy with spreadsheets, databases and electronic programmes is required;  Quality of both oral and written communication skills;  Demonstrated ability to work as manager of international projects in the country;  Fluency in English and Georgian.
key performance indicators Expected Outputs: As defined in the Inception Report and subsequent Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the Project Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for * Name: TBD Job Title**: National Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC: ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia; Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: TBD Title: NPM/TL General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The National Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant will operate under the overall operational guidance and responsibility of the FAO Representative for Georgia, overall supervision of the National Project Manager for the Capacity Development of the Ministry of Agriculture Project GCP-GEO-001-EC , and in close collaboration with other international and national consultants of the Project, the FAO Country Office and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in Georgia.
Duties and responsibilities:  Consultant activities under the supervision of the National Project Manager, including submitting a monthly progress reports;  Follow up and on recommendations, next steps, tasks and activities set out and agreed within the FAO MOA Capacity Development project;  Liaise and coordinate activities with the international experts for in-country missions and home- based assignments and accompany them in their field missions if and when required;  Work alongside the principal Agencies of MOA, including the lead main focal point appointed by MOA and assigned FAO staff, to guide the process of the Monitoring System design and implementation;  Work with the National Policy Advisor and the National Project Manager in the development of electronic tools and software designed for the Monitoring System;  Participate in training sessions as and when required and delivered by the International Expert(s) for the purpose of their subsequent adaptation to the needs of advancement of the monitoring system in the MoA;  Plan and deliver training and training of trainers exercises to the key stakeholders within the MoA system for the purpose of supporting retention, continuation and augmentation of “institutional memory” of the monitoring and evaluation related function within the MoA system;  Other duties as required by the management.
Qualifications  At least master’s degree in development studies, economics, social sciences or a related field;  Specialization in M&E, Project Cycle Management, and Project Planning considered an advantage;  Minimum two years’ relevant professional experience in international cooperation development projects, preferably agricultural and rural development projects;  Practical experience in the monitoring and evaluation of projects, including the implementation of M&E systems, including those of EU are considered as an advantage;  Ability to communicate effectively with public officials, including high-level staff and international donors;  Computer literacy with spreadsheets, databases and electronic programmes is required;  Fluency in Georgian and English.
 Excellent communication (both written and oral) and presentation and reporting skills; key performance indicators Expected Outputs: Under GCP/GEO/010/EC: As defined in the Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the contract Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for * Name: TBD Job Title**: National Policy Advisor – Wine Value Chain Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: TBD Title: National Team Leader/National Project Manager General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The National Policy Advisor shall operate under the overall guidance and responsibility of the FAO Representative in Georgia; direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative, the Senior Field Programme Officer, REU (LTO) and the National Team Leader/National Project Manager; technical supervision of the relevant technical backstopping officer in REU and in close collaboration with other international and national consultants, FAO Representation Office and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in Georgia Duties and responsibilities:  Participate in functioning of a policy analysis/advisory mechanism relying on the relevant departmental resources of the Ministry;  Participate in identification of the priority areas for policy intervention by
 setting up the relevant information gathering/analysis/presentation mechanism based on the criteria of relevance, reasonability, efficiency, and short and long term policy implications;  Participate in preparation of position papers on selected subjects at the request of the Minister, as well as in relation to the strategic directions outlined by the Strategy and Action Plan;  Assist the MoA in planning and execution of the human resources skills and capacities upgrade and training programs by means establishing the concept for sustainability of training programs, their content, regularity, and budget;  Assist MoA and the its agencies in the process of policy institutional policy formulation, implementation and performance monitoring in relation to specific value chain activities;  Assist the MoA in mobilizing donor assistance to the area of institutional reform for governance of value chain development support activities by means of liaising with the working group representatives and formulating policy proposals for the MoA;  Participate in elaboration of policy for establishment of institutional framework for agricultural extension system in Georgia including work with the MoA and other stakeholders such as relevant ministries and donor community representatives;  Any other duty as assigned by the NPM/TL.
Qualifications:  At least a Bachelor’s degree in agriculture and/economy/finance or a related field;  Good written, oral, and analytical skills;  Good computer skills;  Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member;  Fluency in English is a must key performance indicators Expected Outputs: As defined in the Inception Report and subsequent Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the Project Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for * Name: TBD Job Title**: National Policy Advisor – Data Management and Statistics Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: TBD Title: National Team Leader/National Project Manager General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The National Policy Advisor shall operate under the overall guidance and responsibility of the FAO Representative in Georgia; direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative, the Senior Field Programme Officer, REU (LTO) and the National Team Leader/National Project Manager; technical supervision of the relevant technical backstopping officer in REU and in close collaboration with other international and national consultants, FAO Representation Office and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in Georgia Duties and responsibilities:  Participate in
 functioning of a policy analysis/advisory mechanism relying on the relevant departmental resources of the Ministry;  Participate in identification of the priority areas for policy intervention by setting up the relevant information gathering/analysis/presentation mechanism based on the criteria of relevance, reasonability, efficiency, and short and long term policy implications;  Participate in preparation of position papers on selected subjects at the request of the Minister, as well as in relation to the strategic directions outlined by the Strategy and Action Plan;  Assist the MoA in planning and execution of the human resources skills and capacities upgrade and training programs by means establishing the concept for sustainability of training programs, their content, regularity, and budget;  Assist MoA and the its agencies in the process of policy institutional policy formulation, implementation and performance monitoring in relation to specific value chain activities;  Assist the MoA in mobilizing donor assistance to the area of institutional reform for governance of value chain development support activities by means of liaising with the working group representatives and formulating policy proposals for the MoA;  Participate in elaboration of policy for establishment of institutional framework for agricultural extension system in Georgia including work with the MoA and other stakeholders such as relevant ministries and donor community representatives; 
 Any other duty as assigned by the NPM/TL.
Qualifications:  At least a Bachelor’s degree in agriculture and/economy/finance or a related field;  Good written, oral, and analytical skills;  Good computer skills;  Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member;  Fluency in English is a must key performance indicators Expected Outputs: As defined in the Inception Report and subsequent Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the Project Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for * Name: TBD Job Title**: National Policy Advisor – Extension Policy Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: TBD Title: National Team Leader/National Project Manager General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The National Policy Advisor shall operate under the overall guidance and responsibility of the FAO Representative in Georgia; direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative, the Senior Field Programme Officer, REU (LTO) and the National Team Leader/National Project Manager; technical supervision of the relevant technical backstopping officer in REU and in close collaboration with other international and national consultants, FAO Representation Office and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in Georgia Duties and responsibilities:  Participate in functioning of
 a policy analysis/advisory mechanism relying on the relevant departmental resources of the Ministry;  Participate in identification of the priority areas for policy intervention by setting up the relevant information gathering/analysis/presentation mechanism based on the criteria of relevance, reasonability, efficiency, and short and long term policy implications;  Participate in preparation of position papers on selected subjects at the request of the Minister, as well as in relation to the strategic directions outlined by the Strategy and Action Plan;  Assist the MoA in planning and execution of the human resources skills and capacities upgrade and training programs by means establishing the concept for sustainability of training programs, their content, regularity, and budget;  Assist MoA and the its agencies in the process of policy institutional policy formulation, implementation and performance monitoring in relation to specific value chain activities;  Assist the MoA in mobilizing donor assistance to the area of institutional reform for governance of value chain development support activities by means of liaising with the working group representatives and formulating policy proposals for the MoA;  Participate in elaboration of policy for establishment of institutional framework for agricultural extension system in Georgia including work with the MoA and other stakeholders such as relevant ministries and donor community representatives;  Any other
 duty as assigned by the NPM/TL.
Qualifications:  At least a Bachelor’s degree in agriculture and/economy/finance or a related field;  Good written, oral, and analytical skills;  Good computer skills;  Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member;  Fluency in English is a must key performance indicators Expected Outputs: As defined in the Inception Report and subsequent Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the Project Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for Name: TBD Job Title**: National Policy Advisor – Liaisons with Donors Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: TBD Title: National Team Leader/National Project Manager General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The National Policy Advisor shall operate under the overall guidance and responsibility of the FAO Representative in Georgia; direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative, the Senior Field Programme Officer, REU (LTO) and the National Team Leader/National Project Manager; technical supervision of the relevant technical backstopping officer in REU and in close collaboration with other international and national consultants, FAO Representation Office and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in Georgia Duties and responsibilities:  Participate in functioning
 of a policy analysis/advisory mechanism relying on the relevant departmental resources of the Ministry;  Participate in identification of the priority areas for policy intervention by setting up the relevant information gathering/analysis/presentation mechanism based on the criteria of relevance, reasonability, efficiency, and short and long term policy implications;  Participate in preparation of position papers on selected subjects at the request of the Minister, as well as in relation to the strategic directions outlined by the Strategy and Action Plan;  Assist the MoA in planning and execution of the human resources skills and capacities upgrade and training programs by means establishing the concept for sustainability of training programs, their content, regularity, and budget;  Assist MoA and the its agencies in the process of policy institutional policy formulation, implementation and performance monitoring in relation to specific value chain activities;  Assist the MoA in mobilizing donor assistance to the area of institutional reform for governance of value chain development support activities by means of liaising with the working group representatives and formulating policy proposals for the MoA;  Participate in elaboration of policy for establishment of institutional framework for agricultural extension system in Georgia including work with the MoA and other stakeholders such as relevant ministries and donor community representatives;  Any other
 duty as assigned by the NPM/TL.
Qualifications:  At least a Bachelor’s degree in agriculture and/economy/finance or a related field;  Good written, oral, and analytical skills;  Good computer skills;  Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member;  Fluency in English is a must key performance indicators Expected Outputs: As defined in the Inception Report and subsequent Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the Project Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for * Name: TBD Job Title**: Junior National Expert in Agricultural Policy Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: TBD Title: National Project Manager General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved The EU-FAO Capacity Development of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) is supporting the implementation of specific Agricultural Development Strategy components, under the EU’s ENPARD Programme in Georgia.
Junior National Expert in Agricultural Policy shall assist the Project National Policy Advisors and International Experts in obtaining and summarization of agricultural quantitative and qualitative information, systematization of extension materials, organizational work related to improvement of information flow within the MoA system, and liaising with key stakeholders international donors, and other tasks as defined by the NPM.
Duties and Responsibilities: o o o o Assist the Project National Policy Advisors in their efforts to help the MoA in obtaining and summarization of data and statistical information for decision-making; Assist the Project National Policy Advisors in their efforts to systematize the available extension materials; Assist the Project National Policy Advisors in their efforts related to improvement of information flow within the MoA system and liaising with international donors; Other tasks as defined by the NPM Qualifications  At least a bachelor’s degree in economics/agriculture/management or other related field;  Good skills in computer programs such as word, excel, power point;  Good communication (both written and oral) and presentation skills; key performance indicators Expected Outputs: As defined in the Inception Report and subsequent Project Progress Reports Required Completion Date: By end of the Project Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations Terms of Reference for Consultant /NPP  Minimum number of years of relevant experience required: 1yr  5yrs  12+yrs  Name: Job Title: National Communications Consultant Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 15 March 2017 Duration: NTE: 28 February 2018 Reports to: Name: Mamuka Meskhi Title: Assistant FAO Representative General Description of task(s) and objectives to be
 achieved Under the overall and direct supervision of Assistant FAO Representative in Georgia, under the technical guidance of the Communications Officer (REU) and in close collaboration with the Coordination and Support Officer for ENPARD Projects in Georgia, the National Project Managers and the staff of FAO Representation, the National Communications Consultant will:           Undertake all information and communication work related to the FAO-ENPARD technical assistance projects and the FAO Country Office Georgia; Further develop overall communication and visibility strategy and plan for Representation as well as individual projects based on consultations with relevant staff on country as well as regional level; Ensure appropriate visibility of FAO and its donors (EU, ADA, SDC) in line with relevant visibility requirements and guidelines; Create regular news outlets (press releases, news stories, newsletters) of various formats (electronic, printed, web) and disseminate to stakeholders (FAO globally, donors, government, media, partners) through appropriate channels (TV, radio, social networks, web-pages, etc.
); Distribute various articles, news releases, reports, multimedia materials from regional office as well as FAO HQ to local stakeholders; Develop variety of publications for the country office as well as individual projects (project briefs, brochures, manuals, information packages, etc.)
Assist in development of video as well as photo materials covering FAO activities in Georgia and maintaining relevant video and photo library; Serve as a focal point for local and international media, facilitate field visits of media to FAO projects; Create various information packages for media and arrange opportunities for educating them on the issues of agriculture; Participate in planning and organizing of public events (conferences, presentations, trainings, visits of officials, field visits, etc.)
to ensure consistency of messages, quality of events, and visibility;  Work closely with FAO staff to draw ideas on new communication-related activities and initiatives;    Provide guidelines to local staff on how to deal with media and ensure consistency of messages, provide advice in case of various media-related cases; Ensure regular media monitoring and report on impact of FAO media outreach in Georgia Perform other related duties as required.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS Academic Qualifications  University degree (MA) in Communication, Public Relations or Journalism.
Technical Competencies and Experience Requirements        5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level Hands-on experience of developing and implementing communication and visibility strategies and plans in the field of relief and development activities Good understanding of agriculture-related issues Experience of working with international donors as well as government Experience of working with local and international media Excellent knowledge of English and Georgian, knowledge of Russian is an asset Availability to work overtime when required.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Terms of Reference for Consultant /PSA Minimum number of years of relevant experience required: 1yr  5yrs 12+yrs  Name: Job Title: Project Officer Division/Department: FEGEO Programme/Project Number: Location: Tbilisi, Georgia GCP/GEO/010/EC - ENPARDII Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia Expected Start Date of Assignment: 1 March 2017 Duration: NTE Date: 28 Feb’2018 Reports to: Name: Javier Sanz Alvarez Title: Project Coordination and Support Officer GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF TASK(S) AND OBJECTIVES TO BE ACHIEVED The Project Officer shall operate under the overall supervision and responsibility of the Assistant FAO Representative in Georgia, the direct supervision of the Coordination and Support Officer in collaboration with the National Project Manager of the GCP-GEO- 010-EC project, and in cooperation with other staff of the FAO in Georgia.
Duties and responsibilities:  Assist in financial management and monitoring of the project budget by doing regular checks of financial statements and transaction listings, monitoring expenditures and verifying the correctness of transactions.

Follow up on hard commitments in the transaction listings, identify encumbrance HCs and raise tickets or initiate actions to clear them.

  Maintain detailed and updated budget estimates and insert project delivery forecasts in FPMIS on quarterly basis.
 Make regular financial checks of the situation of budgets, expenditures rates, over or under expenditures, etc.

Support National Project Manager in the preparation of narrative and financial reports.

  Maintain a filing system of administrative, financial and operational documents.

 Coordinate all recruitment actions in and outside GRMS for national and international staff (HR) and non-staff (NSHR) human resources; regularly liaise with OHR, SSC and other respective units to facilitate the process.
 Coordinate all travel actions in and outside GRMS for staff and non-staff HR; regularly monitor and ensure timely submission and claiming of TECs in GRMS and take further actions as required;.

 Regularly update and monitor HR and NSHR data using available reporting tools and internal electronic systems and provide timely follow-up actions where necessary.
 Coordinate collection of presence sheets from NSHR and ensure timely submission of payment requests on a monthly basis; check transaction listings regularly after the payroll period to confirm payments of NSHR.

 Follow up with any delays in payments (honoraria, TECs, salary recoveries, etc.)

and ensure communication with respective FAO units and beneficiaries.

  Participate in the Project Task Force meetings.
Support the NPM in preparation of various meetings, including translation if needed  Perform any other related duties as assigned REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS Education: University degree in business administration or in the related areas.
Experience: Five years of experience dealing with administrative, financial, travel, and human resources, preferably in donor funded projects; Languages: Working knowledge (level C) of the FAO official language used for communication within the country (English) and working knowledge of the local language (Georgian) IT Skills: Good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.
Ability to use accounting software and other information systems and databases to insert data, make enquiries, retrieve/define ad hoc reports and analyses and edit results in appropriate format.

Technical Skills Good knowledge of FAO's FAO administrative procedures, mainly financial / travel / human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies would be an asset Good knowledge of FAO's organizational structure would be an asset Good understanding of the ENPARD Programme would be an asset.
Good knowledge of the EU administrative and reporting requirements would be an asset Ability to be accurate, consistent and careful with details.

Ability to exercise diligence and care in dealing with records and expenditures.

Ability to use a systematic and efficient approach to work assignments and apply good judgement.

Ability to consistently apply appropriate policies, guidelines and procedures.
          KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Expected Outputs:   Day to day management of Travel and HR/NSHR Monthly checks and adjustments of Travel, NSHR and financial monitoring templates Required Completion Date:   Ongoing Monthly ANNEX 6: Communication and Visibility Plan Communication and Visibility Plan Communication and visibility will be organized by FAO in coordination with the European Union Delegation (through the ENPARD Communication Unit) and with the Ministry of Agriculture and other institutions involved in the implementation of the project, in accordance with the orientation of the “Communication and Visibility Manual for (http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/ European work/visibility/index_en.htm.
), as well as the recently developed communication guidelines for European Union projects in Georgia.
Actions" External Union Within 30 days of the start of the project, FAO will submit a Communication and Visibility Plan drafted in accordance with the European Union template, available under: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/communication-and-visibility-plan- , template-20170109_en_0.pdf The communication plan that will comprise of two separate parts: A. Communication to raise awareness of the project activities in order to facilitate its implementation.
Since the collaboration of farmers will be fundamental for acceptance of the project results, this component of the communication plan will be aimed at raising awareness amongst farmers on certain issues, such as Climate-Smart Agriculture, in close coordination with the work being done through extension services.
B. Communication to raise awareness of the results achieved by the project, such as inception of the project, human interest stories, success stories, tracking improvements events, milestones, meetings, training sessions, workshops, etc.

Part of the plan will involve a visibility strategy to ensure that the results achieved by the project receive the widest possible dissemination.

This will include communication actions within the country (TV, radio, internet, printed press, etc.)
as well as internationally through FAO´s Web sites (www.fao.org/Europe, www.fao.org/georgia), social media and media outreach.

FAO will issue monthly newsletters with articles about the project´s activities and weekly digests with important news stories within ENPARD in general.

European Union visibility will be ensured for all activities supported with the project funds.
This includes the logo of the donor in publications, banners and flags at the activities and events supported by the project and in other communication actions.

The European Union visibility guidelines will be followed in all phases of project implementation.