Peace Building in an Apple Orchard
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia has experienced two ethnic conflicts over territory. Both have been “frozen” for over a decade and remain unresolved. In the case of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict, which was fought from 1991-1992, ethnic Ossetians have very little contact with the world beyond the territory of South Ossetia.
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| American apple expert Paul Vossen demonstrates modern pruning methods to Georgian and Ossetian farmers in an orchard near the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict zone |
The economic situation in South Ossetia has since declined sharply and the agricultural sector has been particularly hard hit. Farmers need new skills and knowledge to compete in international and domestic markets. USAID recognized this need and used it as an opportunity to bring Ossetian and Georgian apple farmers together for a training on orchard management, irrigation, weed and pesticide control, and pruning.
“Because we have been unable to access literature regarding modern production techniques, we continue to plant old apple varieties and follow outdated farming techniques. These factors result in low productivity and often poor quality harvests. Each year it is becoming more difficult to find buyers for our apples,” said one South Ossetian farmer.
Eight Georgian and Ossetian farmers gathered in a Georgian village near the conflict zone to learn new production techniques together. An orchard management expert from the University of California - Davis led the training.
The training was a unique opportunity to encourage cross-border dialogue, idea-sharing, and economic cooperation between Georgian and Ossetian farmers in a non-political setting. Strengthening economic ties can also help ease tension and negative stereotypes that have built up over more than a decade of conflict and closed borders.
“Now I plan to purchase new apple varieties from the apple nursery in Bebnisi [a village in Georgia proper] and work with the nursery’s specialists to establish a modern apple orchard with a drip irrigation system in my village of Balta [in South Ossetia],” said another South Ossetian farmer.
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