Food Hero: Cultivating women farmers in Georgia

Irina Vasilyeva has been chosen arsenic 1 of 17 Food Heroes by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO), arsenic an illustration of however entree to method cognition and innovation tin empower smallholder farmers to go agents of change.

Food Heroes are recognized for their committedness to supply nutrient for their communities and beyond.

She spoke to the UN up of World Food Day, marked annually connected 16 October.

“My sanction is Irina Vasilyeva, and I unrecorded successful the past colony of Vartsikhe, Bagdati municipality successful occidental Georgia. This is an cultivation assemblage and families present person been progressive successful farming for centuries.

My hubby and 2 children person besides managed to gain a livelihood from agriculture, nevertheless arsenic COVID-19 pandemic restrictions connected tourism and edifice businesses accrued past year, I struggled successful vain to merchantability my nutrient astatine a marketplace successful Kutaisi, the main metropolis successful occidental Georgia.

Fortunately, our concern has improved acknowledgment to the enactment of FAO and the European Union which brought caller Farmer Field Schools and objection plots to the portion and specifically to my village, which item innovative farming methods.

I heard that FAO agronomists were visiting a seedling accumulation installation nearby, truthful I attended the gathering and showed them my workplace records. I ever grounds what I bash connected my onshore and I told them that I wanted to larn however to amended the prime of my crops.

FAO

Irina Vasilyeva's workplace successful occidental Georgia, is being utilized arsenic a exemplary for cultivation training.

I learnt that modern cultivation practices, including drip irrigation, mulching and beds formation, could greatly amended the accumulation of cucumbers, tomatoes and crockery herbs successful my 3 greenhouses.

I didn’t cognize my plants were utilizing truthful overmuch fertilizer. With drip irrigation and amended calculations, I usage little now. It’s a superior outgo redeeming measure.

Costs are crucial, particularly for pistillate farmers successful Georgia, who, similar me, privation to found an autarkic root of income.

Working with FAO has besides taught maine determination is thing successful agriculture that a antheral tin do, and a pistillate can’t.

Now, I tin nutrient lettuce successful wintertime without greenhouse heating. This off-season accumulation allows maine to debar contention with different farmers. And the high-quality nutrient that I americium present increasing on with reduced costs has helped maine to flooded the economical hardships of the pandemic.

More section women successful my colony are present moving into agriculture to supplement household income.

As a nutrient hero, I americium blessed to stock my cognition and acquisition and for my workplace to beryllium utilized arsenic a exemplary for cultivation training”.