FOR THE ISSUE OF IMPROVING THE AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

• Main Authors: Paata Koguashvili, Nikoloz Chikhladze
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kutaisi University 2021-07-01
• Series: ეკონომიკური პროფილი
• Subjects: strategy; agrarian policy; management; structural reform
• Online Access: http://economicprofile.org/article/1282

The modern world is facing very serious challenges. Our society has once again strongly felt all the challenges of a pandemic. Mankind is going through this ordeal and the economic crisis provoked by it. We have a need for global, fundamental macroeconomic change. The world is changing before our eyes and in these conditions there is a chance for the country to correctly assess the current situation. Despite the rich resource potential of the country, the share of food exports in the country's total exports is 7-9%, and imports - 10-12%. At the same time, according to the results of 2019, food imports exceeded exports by 3 times. Many factors need to be considered when formulating a state support policy, however, the strategy for action should be based on several important principles: 1. Information-analytical support of the state agrarian policy and management of the forecasting system; 2. Access to government support; 3. The consistency of the policy of the Ministry and its sustainable nature, because the long-term goals and objectives facing the field can not be questioned; 4. Competitive products and conditions of its production; 5. Public involvement and participation of industry associations in defining strategic tasks. We get a picture where all five principles are completely violated in both business practice and thought theory. Programs are fragmentary and less result-oriented, the information-analytical part is weak and vague, there is no forecasting system, unequal conditions are maintained in the market and there are no conditions for its protection and regulation, government actions are mostly inconsistent and inflexible, sectorial associations are virtually mixed. They not only dominate the formation of policies implemented by the state, but it also acts on their orders and often seriously damages the process. We believe that the current strategy of agriculture and rural development in Georgia, with its content, goals and objectives, does not meet the challenges facing the country and the sector. The agenda highlights the need to create a new strategic document with more involvement of scientists, experts, practitioners and farmers, which will be the subject of public discussion before adoption. The need for a "big push policy" is suggested by the authors in the paper. The proposed vision, where the territorial and sectoral principles complement each other, moreover their synergy creates a precondition for development, requires more attention from the state. At the modern stage, reasonable, scientifically substantiated and at the same time adapted in practice target-program action models are gaining special importance. They are part of a complex macroeconomic government vision in which all agencies, entities and individuals have explicit rights and responsibilities. All the above problems can be overcome if there is political will and we will replace evolutionary inertia with a policy of revolutionary big push, where the state will comprehensively understand all the problems and advantages, thus creating a Georgian model of crisis management and development. We need to address the challenges, create a new strategic document for overcoming the crisis and promising development, where, along with monetary and fiscal issues, we will play an important role in the regional and agrarian development of Georgia. We are not really in the reality to be satisfied and follow the state in the policy of "evolutionary self-flow", we need a new strategic vision, targeted programs, a new understanding of the food security problem, flexible stimulus and regulatory policies, fast, effective and responsible action by the government.