Agricultural Research, Extension and Training Project ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION CONTROL PROGRAM BLACK SEA CATCHMENT AREA OF GEORGIA Moldova 2006

Project Components:  Competitive Grant Scheme to support adaptive research and technology dissemination at the farm level  Reform of Agricultural System for a selected high priority research direction  Environment Pollution Control Program to reduce agricultural nutrient pollution of the rivers draining into the Black Sea Agricultural Research, Extension and Training Project

 Strengthen Georgia’s national capacity to meet international commitments assumed through becoming a party to the Bucharest Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution  Support the country in its efforts to achieve compliance with international standards of the quality of environment towards integration into the European Community EPC Program The Mission

Improve management of the land and water resources that will ultimately lead to the decreased nutrient pollution of the Black Sea. EPC Program Overall Goal

 Decrease the nutrient pollution to the rivers of West Georgia draining into the black Sea through introducing and promoting environment friendly agricultural practices;  Support the newly emerged private farmers and small entrepreneurs through introducing, adapting and applying environmentally and economically sustainable and efficient agricultural technologies;  Establish and develop cooperation between farmers and scientists with the purpose of addressing specific agro-ecologic problems;  Adapt methodologies for monitoring and managing agricultural non-point source pollution of the environment (soil, ground water, surface water);  Elaborate recommendations for decreasing adverse environmental impact of agriculture through studying correlation between various technologies and pollution. EPC Program Objectives

 Achieve gradual reduction of pollution of ground and surface waters in the Black Sea basin;  Arrest erosion process in the selected plots by introducing erosion control practices;  Cut pollutant contents in crops and soil;  Increase productivity of the degraded and infertile agricultural lands;  Improve socio-economic conditions of farmers through adoption of environment friendly BGD technology. Expected Outcomes EPC Program

 Three districts in the EPC Program target region of Khobistskali river basin – since 2001  Five additional districts in the expanded area of the EPC Program implementation – during 2004 through total coverage:- 154 villages - over 800 farm households ha area of land Black Sea Catchment area in Georgia EPC Program Coverage

Map of Geographical Area covered by the EPC Program

EPC Program Outcomes - 1 River pollution dynamics over Persistent reduction of pollution in the main rivers of Khobisatskali river basin Choga River, NO 3 Choga river, PO 4

EPC Program Outcomes - 2 Application of integrated practices against soil erosion: Terracing, contour cultivation, buffer stripes  Pollution of the adjacent rivers with suspended load particles and absorbed organic matter reduced by15-18%;  Soil erosion reduced by 65%;  Soil fertility increased by 25% on average;  Yields increased by 29% on average (maize 20-30%, hazelnuts 20-25%, soybeans 50%).

EPC Program Outcomes – 3a Nitrate contents in agricultural crops reduced by 30% on average in result of applying improved agricultural practices

EPC Program Outcomes – 3b Soil pollution with nitrates dropped over in the target farms in result of applying a set of improved agricultural practices

EPC Program Outcomes – 4 Restitution of degraded and infertile agricultural lands: Seed rotation, diversification of crops, drainage, terracing, etc. TechnologyIncrease of soil fertility (%) Average increase of crop yields (%) Average amount of mineral fertilizers withdrawn from application Reduction of nitrate content in crops (%) Savings per farm/year (GEL) Reduction of erosion indicator (%) kg per farm/year kg/ha/year Application of processed manure Seed rotation, crop diversification, drainage , , Terracing, countur cultivation, construction of buffer zones ,2

EPC Program Outcomes – 5a Socio-economic impact of the adoption and operation of MSFs and BGDs over :  m 3 of methane produced annually per farm to substitute m 3 of firewood;  tones of organic fertilizer produced annually per farm to substitute brand mineral fertilizers;  600 GEL annual savings per household from reduced use of mineral fertilizers, firewood and liquid gas;  Cash/in-kind exchange of processed manure initiated.

EPC Program Outcomes – 5b BGDs – success story:  Expansion of dissemination program upon demand;  Leveraged donor support;  Farmers investing in BGDs without a leverage of program assistance;  Fabrication capacity increased at local level and employment generated;  Local Government support gained;  Central Government support gained.

Monitoring and Evaluation What mattered:  Proper sampling and ensuring reliable attribution of results;  Establishing correlation between: - content of various nutrients in soil, - content of particular nutrients in soil and in water, - content of nutrients in soil and in crops grown on it.  Demonstrating measurable direct impact of adopted good agricultural practices on the quality of environment;  Narrowing monitoring indicators down to a manageable and affordable set of criteria.

Lessons Learned  Adoption of advanced agricultural practices takes changing of farmers’ behavioral pattern that is usually deeply entrenched;  Raising environmental awareness is essential but not sufficient element of technology dissemination – proving of economic benefit is critical for successful adoption of new practices;  Ensuring continuity of the established monitoring schemes is important for data accumulation over extended periods of time that contributes to reliability of established models and to the value of practical recommendations issued on their basis;  Meaningful and persistent decrease of pollution is possible with support at all levels of authority – ranging from community ownership of good agricultural practice all way up to political backing of sustainable agriculture.

Way Ahead Water in focus:  Water quality indicators picked, inter alia, for measuring progress towards MDG on environmental sustainability;  Black Sea water quality monitoring laboratories re-established along the coast;  Code of Good Agricultural Practice under development;  Watershed-based management being piloted in Kura-Araks catchment;  Concept of water policy under development;  A component addressing pollution considered for a large livestock project under development.

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