"Kvari Mountain" - a state-funded milk processing cooperative in Tianeti Municipality, has obtained an international food safety standard.
The enterprise, with a production capacity of 1.5 tons per day, provides modern technologies for the production of high quality dairy products, including Dambalkhacho - the traditional product. The products are sold in the local market.
The agricultural cooperative "Kvaru Mountain" - within the framework of the technical assistance program of the Rural Development Agency - introduced a system of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) in the dairy processing plant; state co-financing amounted 90% percent - 13,500 GEL.
Tornike Kapanadze, Head of the Project Management and Technical Assistance Department of the Rural Development Agency and Levan Tsiklauri, Mayor of Tianeti got acquainted with the working process in the milk processing enterprise.
"Rural Development Agency projects cover all components of the value chain; one of these values is facilitating access to the international markets. For this purpose, a technical assistance program is being implemented, one of the most important parts of which is the introduction of international standards and systems for food safety, "- declared Tornike Kapanadze, Head of the Project Management and Technical Assistance Department of the Rural Development Agency.
According to Levan Tsiklauri - Tianeti Mayor, the projects supported by the state programs are a motivation for the local population to get involved in the programs themselves and receive funding.
The agricultural cooperative, which has been operating in Tianeti Municipality since 2016, unites 19 shareholders. As part of the state support programs for agricultural cooperatives, the agricultural cooperative was provided with milk accepting-processing production equipment and agricultural equipment worth GEL 235,000. The cooperative received a 302-hectare pasture in lease for 25 years.