In September 2022, RAPDI organized a Capacity Building Training Program for FAO Uzbekistan to support sharing Georgian experience of the existing Geographical Indication system on the national and regional levels. The participants of the training program included representatives of Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan (Department for Analysis and Development of Intellectual Property), Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and various entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan. RAPDI developed the training program and organized the meetings with relevant Georgian counterparts, including representatives of The National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia Sakpatenti, Origin Georgia, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA), National Food Agency (NFA) and National Wine Agency. As a result of the training program, participants were able to learn the best practices in the creation and implementation of the protected GIs system, including the process of identification and registration of Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin, development of specifications, internal and external compliance control measures, protection of GI products internationally, etc.

In October 2020, within the framework of EU ENPARD-supported project “Promoting a New Rural Development Approach in Akhalkalaki”, RAPDI organized an online 2-day conference “Opportunities for education and employment for young people in Georgia” for Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). The goal of the conference was to support social integration of representatives of ethnical minority groups in Akhalkalaki municipality, to encourage young leaders and to provide them with information about local and international educational and innovative programs. The speakers were representatives of the various organizations working on youth issues, including Youth Agency, EU4Youth, Erasmus+ Information Center in Georgia, Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency, “Promoting Integration, Tolerance and Awareness (PITA)” program and “Social Entrepreneurship in Armenia and Georgia (SEAG)” project, who discussed ongoing and planned projects that offer educational and employment opportunities for youth.

In January-June 2021, RAPDI developed a study “Guidelines and lessons for scaling up support for broad-based agricultural value chain (VC) coordination in Georgia” for World Bank. For the study, Georgian agricultural sector and trade data have been analyzed and ten key agricultural VCs selected based on their contributions to the Georgian economy and food security. Over 30 in-depth interviews with agribusinesses (buyers) and 10 focus group discussions (FGDs) with producers (around 300 farmers) were conducted to develop case studies to analyze both successful and failed experiences of formal and non-formal smallholder procurement by agribusinesses.  Given the benefits associated with contract farming, the case studies captured experiences, as well as interest of stakeholders to participate in such scheme.

In October 2019, RAPDI started implementation of USDA project “Improving World Trade Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Transparency in Georgia”. The program aims to (i) increase SPS transparency and effectiveness in notifying SPS measures to the WTO (ii) enhance private sector engagement based on the US examples; (iii) strengthen the capacity of the regulatory laboratory network to support the science needed for risk-based rule setting (such as prevalence measurements) and verification of the effectiveness of the rules; (iv) develop a laboratory workforce capable of developing the laboratory infrastructure and human capacity required for regulatory enforcement and effectiveness verification; (v) train core groups of individuals with the knowledge and skills to guide the process of risk-based rule making and WTO notification.

In November 2019, RAPDI organized a regional workshop “WTO Transparency in Agriculture and Fisheries”, as a part of the FAO Regional Initiative on Improving Agrifood Trade and Market Integration, which focuses on the strengthening of export potential of European and Central Asian countries and facilitation to their integration in global trade relations. Participants of the workshop were representatives of WTO national notification authorities and/or ministries preparing notifications concerning trade in agriculture, agrifood, and regulation of fisheries from the following countries: Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan.

In February 2019, within the framework of the Piloting Modern Trading Opportunities in Agriculture through Creation of Innovative Online Platform – AgroNet project, RAPDI developed two research methodology documents for the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA):  (1) how to identify/shortlist the main agricultural products and services with a potential for export and import within the three BSB countries (Georgia, Bulgaria and Romania) and (2) how to conduct export-import feasibility studies on 15 identified/shortlisted agricultural products and services. In May - December 2019, RAPDI conducted export-import feasibility studies for 5 preselected agricultural products (berries, dried fruits, unfermented juices et al., grape wine/ marc spirits, and fresh peaches/ nectarines). The main aim of these studies is to provide detailed information and analysis, and be used as a tool for agribusiness actors in making decisions regarding export-import of selected products.

In March 2018, RAPDI organized study tour for FAO Tajikistan to facilitate experience exchange between Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan (MoA) and the Agency on Statistics under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan (AoS) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and the National Statistics Office (GeoStat). During the study tour, RAPDI identified and organized meetings with the relevant Georgian counterparts and provided necessary organizational, administrative and consulting services to support the smooth implementation of the visit.

In 2018, RAPDI experts prepared overview of Georgia’s agricultural trade policy, which was presented at the annual “Meeting of the Agricultural Trade Policy Expert Network in Europe and Central Asia”, organized by FAO. The meeting was held September 2018, in Odessa, Ukraine. RAPDI experts have been engaged as agricultural trade policy experts for the FAO group since 2015, preparing and contributing to the Georgian chapter of the FAO annual publication about recent developments in agricultural trade in the region.

In April-October 2018 RAPDI, together with Agroservice, conducted awareness raising campaign for the The Agriculture Modernization, Market Access and Resilience (AMMAR) project of the Government of Georgia, funded through the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) with a complementary grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The main aim of the campaign was to raise awareness among project beneficiaries about the project activities, identify training needs and attract /mobilize them for prospective trainings and applying for AMMAR grant scheme.  In the framework of this project, RAPDI conducted 13 awareness raising sessions for more than 300 potential beneficiaries, as well as 4 value chain platform meetings to facilitate process of sharing knowledge and information among various VC actors.

From February 2018, RAPDI together with Agroservice, has been providing pre-financing support for DANIDA Programme - Inclusive Growth and Employment for Young Entrepreneurs in Georgia, which is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and implemented by the Georgian Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture. Pre-financing support includes information dissemination to attract young rural talent to the scheme, thus ensuring that the most impact in terms of income and job generation is achieved, as well as provision of pre-financing training to potential applicants aimed at filling any potential business gaps along with the formulation of their business idea.  

Apart from various research activities, in 2017, RAPDI has implemented the project for hazelnut pollen export together with Georgian Hazelnut Growers Association. In the framework of this project, for the first time in Georgia the dust from Georgian endemic varieties of hazelnut trees is collected and the produced material is sent to the Kingdom of Bhutan (South East Asia), where the hazelnut orchards will be artificially pollinated.

In 2017, RAPDI won the right to organize 2 FAO conferences in Tbilisi, Georgia. The first one is “Meeting of the Agricultural Trade Policy Expert Network in Europe and Central Asia”. This is a FAO Regional Initiative on Agri-Food Trade and Regional Integration, which focuses on strengthening national and regional capacities in Europe and Central Asia to deal effectively with the challenges posed by greater trade integration. The network is intended to bring together experts in governments, private sector and academia in the European and Central Asian countries in order to promote dialogue on agricultural trade policy issues and to support broader capacity development in this area. The meeting is organized annually in various countries. This year it took place in Tbilisi, in October 2017.

The second conference, “Agricultural trade policy, WTO and market development in Europe and Central Asia” was conducted on 5 October in Tbilisi, back-to-back with the annual meeting of the Agricultural Trade Expert Network. This allowed enriching the debate on agricultural trade policy issues in the context of WTO membership by engaging a variety of stakeholders from public and private sectors as well as the expert community, drawing from different strands of FAO capacity development work in the region.

In 2015-2017, together with the University of Limerick of Ireland and Agricultural University of Georgia, RAPDI has implemented EU funded project “Capacity building to agriculture-related education and research institutions”. The project aimed to strengthen capacity of civil society engaged in rural and agricultural activities, increase the capacity of the Agricultural University of Georgia to deliver short term practical courses, address specific development issues of the mountainous and least favourable areas of Georgia and to raise awareness and knowledge of the agricultural sector operators in planned and implemented reforms, including regulatory changes as required by the AA and DCFTA agreements.

In 2017, RAPDI has implemented another research project - study for Analysing State Budget Spending on Agriculture and Smallholder Production. This study was conducted in the framework of the regional project of the OXFAM Great Britain in Georgia,  “Improving Regional Food Security in the South Caucasus through National Strategies and Smallholder Production”, financed by the European Union. For this study, RAPDI undertook the assessment of state budgetary spending on agriculture and food security issues, specifically on Preferential Agro Credit Program, that was developed by the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia in 2013. The emphasis was made whether the program guarantees inclusive economic growth, which means the universal involvement of the population in the economic development process.

In 2016, in the framework of the regional project of the OXFAM Great Britain in Georgia: “Improving National Food Security in the South Caucasus through National Strategies and Small Holder Production”, financed by the European Union, RAPDI has conducted a study on “Food Security and Nutrition Challenges in the High Mountains of Georgia”. The study provides analysis of gender sensitive food and nutrition challenges in the high mountainous areas of Georgia, based on affordability, availability, quality and safety of the food, including the impact of hazards triggered by climate change on food production and affordability.