The Chair of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee, Maia Bitadze, and the Chair of the Agriculture Committee, Gela Samkharauli, participated in the award ceremony for the winning students of the “Green and Agro Scholarships” Program.

 

Representatives of both the executive and legislative branches addressed the participants of the event. They congratulated the young scholarship recipients on their success and wished them progress in their professional development.

 

“On behalf of the Committee, I would like to express full support for the process of promoting agricultural and environmental education. These are among the few professional fields in which both the executive and legislative authorities have been actively working over the past several years. It is important that more and more people become interested in both academic and vocational pathways. It is a great honor for me to be here with you and to express support for all those who spare no effort to make environmental and agricultural education increasingly attractive for future generations,” - said Maia Bitadze in her welcoming remarks.

 

The winning students were also addressed by Gela Samkharauli, Chair of the Agriculture Committee.

 

“In recent years, significant measures have been implemented to develop the agricultural sector. As a result, many areas have been identified where our country faces an acute shortage of qualified personnel. Therefore, it is essential to encourage our youth so that we can respond to future challenges and ensure that young people acquire the modern knowledge necessary for agricultural development. We aim to create additional mechanisms to make employment in agriculture more attractive and profitable, to involve more young people, and to extend the benefits that the agricultural sector can bring to a wider population”, - stated Gela Samkharauli.

 

This year, 72 students were awarded scholarships, including 32 recipients of the “Green Scholarship” and 40 recipients of the “Agro Scholarship”.

 

The scholarship recipients represent educational institutions operating in various regions of Georgia. Within the framework of the program, each student received a scholarship of 1,500 GEL.

 

The winning students of the “Green and Agro Scholarships” Program were awarded by the Environmental Protection and Agriculture Minister, Davit Songulashvili, the Deputy Education, Science and Youth Minister, Baia Kvitsiani, the Chair of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee, Maia Bitadze, the Chair of the Agriculture Committee, Gela Samkharauli, and the UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia, Douglas Webb.

 

The “Green and Agro Scholarships” Program has been implemented since 2022 by the Environmental Information and Education Center of the Environmental Protection and Agriculture Ministry. The program aims to promote environmentally and agriculturally deficient professions, encourage high-achieving students, and provide them with opportunities to gain practical experience in relevant state institutions.

 

The program is implemented within the framework of the project “Reducing the Risks of Climate Change-Induced Disasters in Georgia,” which is funded by the Government of Georgia, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the governments of Sweden and Switzerland, and is implemented by the UNDP.