Improving food safety and competitiveness in Georgia’s commercial dairy sector is the focus of the country's I National Dairy Congress, to be held in Tbilisi on 10 March 2016.

Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the event will bring together commercial dairy farmers, processors, input and equipment suppliers, industry experts and the Government to promote investment in Georgia's commercial dairy industry, discuss changing food safety standards and share knowledge on state-of-the-art technologies.

Georgia has an excellent investment climate, ideal agro-climatic conditions for dairy farming, strong demand for dairy products and unique consumption patterns that protect the market from imports − making targeted investment along the entire value chain attractive.

The Congress will look at the constraints Georgian dairy farmers face, including the lack of modern farms, processing companies and technical capacity, as well as opportunities to develop the dairy sector. It will also explore the modern technologies and farm management practices commercial dairy farmers can adopt to boost productivity and improve milk quality − from better feeding and animal health and welfare practices to hygienic milk handling and processing

The National Dairy Congress is one initiative sponsored by the new FAO/EBRD project, “Improving food safety in Georgia's dairy sector – Phase II”. The project also features a strong emphasis on training and knowledge sharing.

Radisson Blue Iveria Hotel, Tbilisi, 1 Rose Revolution sq.