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Levan Ujmajuridze met with the Resident Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency

Levan Ujmajuridze, director of the LEPL Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture, met with the Resident Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Wakui Junji.

The parties discussed the tasks facing the center, which the agency has to implement in the short and long term. The importance of JICA's support in issues of capacity development of the center was emphasized.

Levan Ujmajuridze drew attention to the center's main functions, annual and perennial crops, finding and studying the local gene pool of domestic animals, poultry, fish, on the search and study of the local gene pool of useful agricultural insects, producing healthy seed and planting material, standards and certification systems, soil fertility restoration - improvement. He focused on promotion of organic production, research and dissemination of new methods of storage and processing of agricultural products, research on plant pests and diseases, weeds and integrated systems of combating them, risk assessment and other important details.

Emphasis was placed on the cooperation of the Scientific-Research Center and the Japanese Agency, on the importance of implementing various projects and activities in the direction of wheat production. He noted that the joint research of endemic species and varieties of wheat with molecular genetics methods, as well as the use of selection methods will contribute to the improvement of local varieties. The parties expressed hope for successful cooperation in the direction of conducting field trainings and organizing study tours of young specialists in Japan.

The meeting was attended by Konstantine Tsereteli, Program Officer of JICA's Georgian office, representatives of the division of Standards, Certification, Planning and Economic Analysis and representatives of various research divisions of the Center.

Within the framework of the meeting, the guests got acquainted with the ampelographic collection located at the experimental-demonstration base of the perennial crops of Jighaura of the Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture, they viewed the Soil Research Laboratory named after Prof. Ivane Sarishvili and Laboratory of Certified Seeds and Planting Standards and Certification.