The Georgian group of companies Mkisa expects the first harvest of almonds in its super-intensive orchards this year.
Almond orchards with an area of 40 hectares, the development of which began in 2020, are located in the village of Nahiduri, Bolnisi municipality (Kvemo Kartli region, Eastern Georgia). According to Mkisa, this is only the first stage of the project, and the area of super-intensive almond orchards is planned to be gradually increased to 100 hectares. In addition to almonds, the group of companies also owns 55 hectares of blueberry orchards in Tskaltubo and Khobi (Western Georgia).
The Mkisa almond orchard project is supported by the Bank of Georgia, which provides agro loans for various areas of agricultural activity, EastFruit reports.
According to the Bank of Georgia, seedlings were purchased with the funds issued to Mkisa, a drip irrigation system, a local weather station, a sensor control system, and other infrastructure were installed.
“Mkisa entered the local market in 2020 and became our partner from day one. It has been actively involved in agriculture for three years now and is developing two important crops for the country: almonds and blueberries. The company is doing important and necessary work to further strengthen agriculture. In addition, the company is a good employer. According to the project, more than 300 people are employed in it, which is a significant factor in reducing the unemployment rate,” said Nino Aptsiauri, head of corporate sales at the Bank of Georgia.
Gigi Gachechiladze, a representative of the group of companies, said that several European countries have already shown interest in future Mkisa products.
“In the global market, the demand for almond kernels is growing by about 5% annually. With the support of the Bank of Georgia and government programs, almond production has become quite promising. Our team has been monitoring the agriculture sector since 2015. In the spring of 2020, when we got acquainted with the Bank of Georgia’s new super-intensive almond orchard program and assessed the opportunities, we decided to plant almond orchards in Bolnisi. We will get the first harvest at the end of this summer. As for the sale of our products, we are currently negotiating with potential partners. Thanks to our high standards, various European countries are actively interested in our products,” said Gigi Gachechiladze.
For more information: east-fruit.com