STUDY TOUR IN ARMENIAN BORDER REGIONS
Mariam Betlemidze

The Messenger
May 3 2010
Georgia

Farmers and local government representatives from Kvemo Kartli and
Samtskhe-Javakheti have travelled to Armenian regions aiming to
strengthen cross-border cooperation and establish links and contacts
with local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Local Governments
(LGs) from Armenia.

Shirak and Lori in Marzes province in Armenia were visited on March
29-30 as part of the Poverty Reduction and Confidence-Building in
Border Areas of Georgia and Armenia by Strengthening Civil Societies
in Sustainable Rural Development (STAGE II) project study tour.

"The project provides opportunities to facilitate poverty reduction
owing to its design. The activities planned within the project envisage
the growth and reinforcement of NGO/civil organisations’ capabilities,
which is automatically reflected in the economic condition of the
relevant community population," states Ketie Kheladze, STAGE II
project manager.

According to the baseline survey carried out by ACT the share of
unemployed people in border regions is higher in Georgia than in
Armenia. In both countries the largest portion of employed people
works mainly in the state sector. It is worth noting that the share
of households with a high income in Armenia’s border region is 23%
higher than in Georgia’s border regions.

"Having started to work on cross-border cooperation we have once
again realised that there is a need for joint work on the more precise
identification of common problems of rural development that can best
be solved cross-border, or at least require cross-border cooperation,"
says Martin Tonoyan, Head of the Agriculture Department at the Shirak
local authority. This idea is shared by many in the Georgian bordering
regions.

During the study visit participants got acquainted with the work
of three Armenian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) – the Shirak
Competitiveness Centre (SCC), the Yerevak NGO and Spitak Farmers
Association (SFA). Thus they could observe best practices and learn
lessons from their counterparts.

"It was interesting to see that local government here experiences
similar problems. The need for development projects and programmes
is high in both countries and we could build a win-win partnership
in this regard," said Nodar Sabiashvili, Bolnisi Council Chairman.

In Shirak the tour participants visited the Shirak Competitiveness
Centre’s milk collection centre project and met with the Jrarpi
Farmer’s Union and the HATM Project – an Armenian-American Housing
Company. Thus participants got acquainted with local entrepreneurs
and farmers’ methods of work.

In Lori Georgian CSOs and LG representatives attended a legal
consultancy workshop organised by the SFA in the Spitak Cultural
House and saw the Spitak Farmers Association’s Spitaki Handicrafts
Centre, greenhouse, bio-humous production and goat and buffalo
breeding centres.

"Having seen all these we may assume that in some respects our
work may be more productive and they can learn from us, but in some
spheres their experience and advice are essential for us. What we
have seen here during the site visit may be a source of inspiration
for organisations in developing proposals for micro projects to be
submitted for a CARE/STAGE II grant or any other potential donor,"
said Marine Bzhalava, President of Women and the World.

In the nearest future the participants of the study tour will also have
a chance to deepen their knowledge of Improved Responses to Economic
Development and Rural Livelihood Problems in Bordering Regions of
Georgia and Armenia at a joint workshop to be organised on May 13-14,
in Tbilisi.

"Such activities could be fruitful for both coun¬tries, as the
bordering regions of Georgia and Ar-menia have substantial potential
to form a rather at¬tractive investment zone. For this to happen
we should continue our work on the harmonisation of fields of law,
transportation and tax systems and in the good governance sphere which
should create a common in¬vestment environment," says Kote Khmaladze,
economic expert and the Head of the Regional Economic Devel¬opment
Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastruc¬ture
of Georgia.

According to the evaluation of STAGE I participation of the
local population in decision-making increased due to the project’s
activities: the village associations held meetings with the population
to get acquainted with their problems. Within a year a third of the
population has participated at least once in the problem resolution
process. The increased membership of residents in local associations
is considered one of the indicators of this growth.

The project is financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation and
Cooperation with Eastern Europe (ADC) project and implemented by CARE
Osterreich and CARE International in the Caucasus along with partner
organisations the Civil Development Agency (CiDA) in Georgia and
Centre for Agribusiness and Rural Development (CARD) in Armenia. The
project started on May 1, 2009 and will last till October 31, 2011.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress