Changes in Dairy Products Value Chain in Georgia

Rami Al Sidawi,Teo Urushadze,Angelika Ploeger

doi:10.3390/su12155894

Abstract

The livestock sector, as a part of the traditional food system in Georgia, occupies a considerable portion of the national economy. Though smallholder farmers are the key suppliers at the primary stage in the food value chain, the empowerment of smallholder farmers in the dairy production system in Georgia is a questionable matter. This research study reports the results of changes in the dairy sector in Georgia (Caucasus) after becoming independent from the Soviet Union (literature survey) and how these changes are seen by experts in the dairy value chain. In addition, this study aimed to look in-depth at the dynamics of the value chain of dairy in Georgia and examine the current dairy production policies. Qualitative research was applied as the methodology for expert interviews in 2019. The findings showed the difficulties experienced by the local and national dairy market sectors in Georgia nowadays. Where these difficulties were analyzed by the parameters of the value chain, it states the impact of the current regulations and policies on the safety and the quality of dairy production in the country and the depth of social, economic, and ethical impacts on the marketing of dairy products for smallholders. Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goals on the dairy value chain are described.

Highlights

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a difficult political, socio-economic situation arose in Georgia, which was further aggravated by the civil war in the country
It is remarkable that not all the government sectors are on the same page, what concerns the heavy metals contamination because they do not evaluate the situation as being problematic or affect the value chain directly, few experts explained that the dairy sector does not face a significant health risk from trace metals: “G9: I think we had not such a case with milk or dairy product where we found to exist of any HM, but it’s difficult to say, and not just in milk in meat.”
This study aimed to examine the dynamics of the dairy food value chain in Georgia, scrutinize the current dairy production safety regulations and policies, and to find out which kind of socio-economic impacts occur for smallholder dairy farmers marketing their products

Summary

Introduction

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a difficult political, socio-economic situation arose in Georgia, which was further aggravated by the civil war in the country. In the last few years, due to the fact of this reform, which mainly aimed to solve the social issues, the Georgian economy has been under transformation [6]. This changing period can be alienated in two core stages: from 1990 to 2003 and 2004 up to present. 90% of the smallholder farmers who live in the rural areas are dependent mainly on grass-based dairy production, and they are using the available pasture in the summertime and reliant on hay in the winter period. Often the mountain pastures are used informally for free and without any restrictions by local herders or nomads [9]

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Conclusion