11 September 2019, Tsalka – With the support of EU, a Local Action Group (LAG) was officially established in Tsalka Municipality as a result of active information and mobilization campaigns conducted by ENPARD implementing partner organizations – CENN, GFA and Ifls.

 

On September 6, 2019, LAG Board Members were elected. In total, the LAG unites 168 members, out of which 32% are women. The sectors are distributed as follows: Public Sector – 22%; Civic – 45%, Private – 33%. In terms of geographical coverage, the LAG have representatives from 42 villages and the city of Tsalka.

 

27 candidates registered for Governing Council membership elections. 12 members of the Governing Board were elected from among the candidates via secret ballot voting by members of the Local Action Group. Amongst the elected members, 50% are female, 50% male, 25% an ethnic minority and 41.6% youth.

 

At the end of Election Day, the election results were announced by 5 members of the counting commission (CENN, GFA and candidates). 3 members of the LAG observed fair and impartial elections.

 

The election was preceded by the pre-election campaign aimed at presenting the programs developed by the LAG Board Member Candidates to the LAG members, as well as introducing the election procedures.

 

The project “EMBRACE Tsalka” is implemented under the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) by EU’s partner organization CENN, in partnership with the Georgian Farmers’ Association (GFA) and German partner organization – Institute for Rural Development Research (IfLS). The total budget of the project is € 2.4 million. It follows the previous EU-supported rural development actions under ENPARD in Borjomi, Lagodekhi, Kazbegi, Keda, Khulo, Dedoplistskaro, Tetritskaro and Akhalkalaki municipalities. This year, the EU has launched rural development projects in four new municipalities including Tsalka, Akhmeta, Tskaltubo, and Mestia.

 

The EU is supporting agriculture and rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 179.5 million, the main goal of ENPARD is to reduce rural poverty in Georgia. The first phase of ENPARD in Georgia focused on developing the potential of agriculture. The second and third phases of ENPARD focus on creating economic opportunities for rural populations that go beyond agricultural activities. More information on ENPARD is available at: www.enpard.ge.