USAID Supports Disaster Recovery and Economic Development in Mtskheta-Mtianeti Region

printemail

Dusheti - On Thursday, December 13, 2012, USAID Mission Director Stephen M. Haykin will join Tengiz Shergelashvili, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, Irakli Tripolski, Head of Parliamentary Committee for Regional Policy, Self-Government and Mountainous Regions, Nunu Mghebrishvili, Deputy Governor of Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Dusheti Municipality representatives to visit Bulachauri village and distribute multi-mineral feed blocks to one of the six hail-affected communities in the Dusheti and Tianeti municipalities. The officials will also open the Combimap Souvenir Production Facility in the village of Aragvispiri together with Maia Sidamonidze, Head of Georgian National Tourism Administration.

In Bulachauri, one of the six communities in Dusheti and Tianeti municipalities severely affected by the July 2012 hail storm, NEO will distribute multi-mineral feed blocks to help sustain cattle over the winter season. The feed blocks will reduce the amount of forage needed by the cows, as well as increase milk and meat production. NEO will also launch two additional agricultural recovery initiatives, including the installation of greenhouses to produce vegetable seedlings for households that sustained over 50 percent loss of crops in the storm and the distribution of seed potatoes to re-establish potato production in the region. Overall, 1,617 households will be supported through post recovery assistance. In addition to recovery efforts, NEO will fund preventative maintenance and rehabilitation of flood-damaged, riverbank protective structures in the flood-affected villages of Aragvispiri and Magharoskari in Dusheti municipality to protect up to 470 at risk households, agricultural crops, schools, rural access roads, and the North-Central Military Highway from damage in future high water events.

In Aragvispiri, USAID will open a modern souvenir-production facility owned by the Georgian firm Combimap LLC and supported by the NEO program. The newly created local souvenir production facility will produce high quality souvenirs for the Georgian tourism market and will create twenty new jobs.

NEO is funded by the U.S. Government through USAID to help Georgians access economic markets, attract investment, and implement economically beneficial infrastructure projects. The project will benefit at least 70,000 rural and vulnerable households in 10 municipalities: Dusheti, Kazbegi, Kareli, Gori, Khashuri, Oni, Tsageri, Lentekhi, Zugdidi, and Tsalenjikha. The project aims to foster sustainable poverty reduction, improved living standards for vulnerable populations, including IDPs, and increased local government participation in addressing community needs.