Since 2013, the Georgian government has been implementing the Produce in Georgia [1] project, coordinated by the Agency for Economic and Sustainable Development and Ministry of Agriculture, and the Preferential Agrocredit [2] project. According to the government, these two projects have supported the renovation and opening of 100 new enterprises [3] in Georgia.

At a press conference held on March 26, 2015, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated [4] that the amount of new enterprises exceeded the initially planned 100. According to the Prime Minister, 105 new enterprises were opened and 580 old ones were expanded. The Prime Minister also announced [5]that a media-tour would be held on April 15 to verify his statements.

In October 2014, TI Georgia visited 25 enterprises located in Adjara, Imereti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti regions.

Following the on-site visits, we found that:

• three enterprises were under construction;

• eight¹ were, in fact, individual entrepreneurs;

• eight were greenhouses;

• Bat Glass Ltd, which is located in Batumi, imported construction materials, produced doors and windows and related building materials. We spoke with the father of the director, who did not confirm any connection with the production of any agricultural products. Note: The Ministry of Agriculture has contacted us and explained that Bat Glass Ltd also entails greenhouse farming which is supported by the preferential agrocredit provided by the Ministry.

• You can view photos and information of the factories on the map below.

How can you check these enterprises?

Join us if you wish to contribute towards checking the validity of the government’s statement by following these four simple steps:

1. Check out the map [3] published by the Ministry of Agriculture, which has a list of all the enterprises using preferential agrocredits and select the one that is most accessible for you.

2. Find the selected enterprises in the list [6], which includes the addresses.

3. Visit the selected enterprise, take photos and inquire whether the owner receives financial assistance from the government.

4. Send us the photos and information to our e-mail (info@transparency.ge [7]) or through Facebook [8]. The information you send will be published on the map below.

If you have any questions, contact us at (032) 292 14 03 or info@transparency.ge [7].

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