Roughly 50 kilometers from the Georgian capital, a group of ten farmers are leading a quiet revolution.

“What we are doing here gives me hope for a healthier future… the soil will be healthier, and, therefore, so will the food that we will consume," says Rati Koberidze. 

Koberidze is a farmer and works on regeneration at Juniperus owned by Udabno, the first major regenerative farming effort in Georgia. Regenerative farming is an umbrella term used to describe a return to sustainable, eco-friendly agriculture practices, including rotating crops, avoiding pesticides, restoring degraded soil, and composting. The aim is to restore biodiversity in an area, revitalize the soil, and improve the quality of crops. While the movement has been active in other countries for a few decades, it was first introduced in Georgia by Gia Razmadze, a mathematician and agrarian several years ago. 

In 2019 he created a non-government organization, the Center for Regenerative Agriculture, with two friends, writer Irakli Lomouri and artist Vato Tsereteli. The center has been working with the farmers to establish regenerative agriculture practices in Georgia since 2022. 

Udabno, which is owned by the Adjara Group, provides crops for the group’s hotels through its farm in Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region. The farm, which includes an almond orchard, pistachio, berry plantations, vineyards with endemic grape varieties, and dairy cows, is using its success to promote regenerative agriculture in the country. "Regeneration not only restores the health of the soil but gives us ten times more and healthy crops, with less physical work, chemical and technical intervention,” Razmadze, who serves as the head of strategic planning and development at Juniperus, which is owned by Udabno.

Other regeneration farming supporters also see potential in Georgia to use the methods to bolster the agriculture sector and improve the livelihoods in rural communities that depend on farming. While agriculture has traditionally played a major role in the Georgian economy, thanks to the diverse climate, ample water resources, and good soil, the sector has struggled to develop since the country regained its independence in 1991. 

"Georgia is on the verge, [the moment] where you have to decide to go in the right path – to strengthen all the farmers here and ensure that in the long term. That is how Georgia is viewed because you have an export potential of one hundred percent," notes Felix Hubner, a member of the executive board at the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International, a sustainable farming association. 

Hubner believes that as climate change affects traditional European farming powerhouses like France, Italy and Spain, Georgia is uniquely positioned to fill the gap in the market. 

“I think that in Georgia there is still a lot of virgin land,” he says, noting however that the “lack of knowledge among farmers is a matter of worry.”

Razmadze and the Center for Regenerative Agriculture are trying to address that concern through educational programs and the successes of the Udabno project. 

One farmer on the Udabno project, Ilia Komakhidze, has already seen the impact of the regenerative farming techniques on the soil. "Working in regenerative farming proved to me again that slowly big changes will come,” he says. 

In Gori, Tengo Andghuladze uses the principle of regeneration to cultivate over 30 plants, growing fruits year long and enriching soil. He does not use chemical fertilisers or hard cultivation methods. "I do not recognise artificial ways of growing plants. I work only on the surface of the ground. My garden's main fertilisers are grass, water, soil, sun, manure, and food leftovers,” he says.

Andghuladze sows plants according to lunar phases, as his ancestors did. He believes it accelerates water flow to the plant and its growth. "We enjoy fresh and tasteful vegetables and fruits the whole year.”

Mariam Chubinishvili, the deputy head of the Food Safety Consulting Centre Department of Plant Protection at the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, sees the potential of sustainable farming practices. 

She warns, however, that large-scale farming requires some modern methods as well.  "Georgian lands maintained fertility because of underdeveloped agriculture. For example, Tianeti municipality has a green zone status because pesticides and chemicals were never used there,” she says, noting that many farmers still use traditional farming methods. But they also face significant crop losses when harmful insects invade the area. 

"We issue recommendations about chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, dosage, and terms of use, but large-scale production and bringing products to the market without pesticides are unthinkable. What is crucial is to adhere to the guidelines!" 

Razmadze admits that convincing people of the potential of regenerative agriculture for commercial farming is a challenge—and adopting regenerative agriculture requires finding the right solution for every situation. 

"Conventional farmers are afraid of changes. [Regenerative farming] is not a universal solution,” he says. “Different regeneration practices suit different regions or even individual farms depending on the conditions, although based on a standard set of principles. Sooner or later, at least among youngsters, the realisation will come – that industrial [farming] is destructive and regenerative [farming] is building an ecosystem, and sustainable agriculture can harmonize the needs of people, the land and the environment."

This Feature Article was produced in the framework of Chai Khana Fellowship program - Spring 2023

The article was prepared with support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) South Caucasus Regional Office. All opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of FES.