The Role of Civil Society Organizations in the Implementation of the DCFTA

On July 25, Ms. Mariam Saghareishvili, Researcher at PMCG, participated in a working meeting about the DCFTA and the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in its implementation.

The working meeting aimed to inform CSOs about the possibilities and requirements of the DCFTA and to introduce to them the challenges that value chain participants face when exporting in Europe. Moreover, the main goal of the meeting was to encourage CSOs to communicate with government representatives at local and national level.

During the meeting, which was organized by the Civil Development Agency (CiDA), several projects were introduced that are associated with the implementation of the DCFTA and the role of CSOs therein. One of the discussed projects was “Regional Civil Society Organizations Supporting Free Trade with European Union”, which is being implemented by PMC Research in collaboration with People in Need as part of the EU project.

Ms. Saghareishvili’s presentation under the topic “Elaboration of research and evidence-based policy in the DCFTA implementation” was focused on introduction of tangerine value chain analysis (VCA) outcomes in the context of the DCFTA, a brief preliminary assessment of the outcomes of the state program “Plant the Future” in the context of the DCFTA, and an overview of the role of CSOs in this process based on research outcomes.

“It is important that CSOs study the specifics of their regions, elaborate proper recommendations and disseminate these nationwide so that as many farmers as possible can benefit from the “Plant the Future” program,” said Ms. Mariam Saghareishvili.

Ultimately, the meeting served to create a working group and CSOs will now become the main sources of information regarding the DCFTA and its implementation in their respective regions.