Gigla Tamazashvili -General Director of “Georgian Amelioration” Ltd has made clarifications with regard to irrigation cycles and irrigation water tariff.

According to him, single irrigation cycle doesn’t mean one-time watering but rather cover a 15-day period during which farmers have unlimited access to irrigation water.

“Under the current tariff, the retail price of irrigation water supply is GEL 0.0826. For annual crops, the cost of one irrigation per one hectare is GEL 116 including VAT, for perennials it is GEL 102, while the second, third and fourth irrigation cycles are fully subsidized by the state.

Within each 15-day period, farmers can irrigate their land plots as many times as needed. Respectively, over a 45-day period covering three irrigation cycles, the service is fully subsidized by the state and there are no limits regarding the number of irrigations.

“We often hear that four irrigation cycles mean watering only four times. This is not the case. Actually, farmers have unlimited access to irrigation water for a total of 60 days,” -Gigla Tamazashvili said.

In case if the fifth and additional irrigation is required, farmers will pay for the service in accordance with the current tariff.