Major Milestone: 50x2030 Supports Georgia’s Efforts to Advance Sustainable Agriculture and Produce Key SDG Indicator

This week, the National Statistics Office of Georgia has published the statistical report on sustainable agriculture in the country arising from the Production Methods and Environment (PME) survey conducted in 2021 in partnership with the 50x2030 Initiative.

With the completion of the PME Survey, Georgia will now be able to improve its monitoring of key sustainable development programs in agriculture and identify obstacles and potential opportunities that would contribute to increased food security, benefits to the economy, and improve rural livelihoods in the country.

The objective of the PME Survey is the production of new statistical indicators in terms of agriculture and the environment, including soil analysis carried out by holdings, irrigation and drainage, the use of fertilizers and pesticides and their varieties, methods of production of agricultural products, veterinary products and their use, animal housing, manure production, etc. It is noteworthy that SDG 2.4.1 (Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture) was produced for the first time according to the mentioned survey results.

The survey covered both family holdings and enterprises engaged in agricultural activity. Survey data was collected with Android tablets using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) method. In total, 176 interviewers and 23 coordinators were involved in the survey fieldwork activity. The survey was conducted in all regions of Georgia except non-controlled territory.

Specific to sustainable agriculture, data was collected on key topics related to land use and crop production, including irrigation methods, energy usage, and fertilizer methods across regions. These data will support research on soil health and environmental sustainability, while informing recommendations for future sustainability efforts.

To view the Statistical Publication, please visit: https://www.geostat.ge/media/52012/Agriculture-of-Georgia%2C-Production-Methods-and-Environment-2021.pdf.