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The Director of the Scientific - Research Center of Agriculture met with local farmers in Tsageri

The director of the Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture, Professor Levan Ujmajuridze, together with the center's employees, met with local farmers in Tsageri Municipality.

The meeting was held in the village of Tsiperchi, on the plot of one of the local farmers, where local endemic and traditional varieties of wheat are currently being grown using seed material provided by the Center.

"The return of traditional varieties to their regions of origin is an important step towards preserving biodiversity and sustainable development of agriculture. Our goal is for the discovered and restored genetic resources to continue their life in the hands of farmers and to be used, propagated and preserved," - noted Levan Ujmajuridze.

The demonstration plot houses a collection of 88 samples, which includes 24 local samples found by the center in Georgia, as well as 64 genetic samples returned from the Gattersleben Gene Bank in Germany. It was noted at the meeting that the modern approach to protecting traditional genetic resources is not limited to storing them in seed banks. It is of particular importance to preserve them in the regions where these ancient species and varieties were formed. On-farm conservation is considered one of the important ways to conduct selection and primary seeding processes in the face of climate change, increase farmers' profits, and raise awareness among the population.

The presented wheat species and varieties have almost disappeared from the Racha-Lechkhumi region. Their genetic material was stored in foreign gene banks for years. Today they have returned to the land where they once appeared and spread. This requires not only research, but also human effort and the involvement of local farmers in the cultivation and maintenance processes,” - noted Tamar Jinjikhadze, Head of the Standards, Certification, Planning and Economic Analysis Division and Project Manager of the Scientific-Research Center.

One of the highlights of the event was a bread tasting — made from ancient wheats that were once grown in the fields of Racha-Lechkhumi and have now, after a long hiatus, returned to local farmers.

The return of traditional varieties is taking place within the framework of the FAO project "Strengthening linkages between in situ/on-farm and ex-situ conservation of local PGRFA from Georgia and use for adaptation to climate change’’.