Farkoni, owned by Mamuka Alpaidze, is a collector and processor of wild berries, bay leaves, and medical herbs. With USAID support, through its Restoring Efficiency to Agricultural Production (REAP) activity, Farkoni introduced seasonings, dried fruit and phyto tea processing as well as a packaging line that will provide a wide variety of high quality products for sale to local and international markets. USAID/REAP is also providing assistance with ISO 22000 certification, which will improve Farkoni’s operational efficiency and enable the firm to export their products to the EU. In January 2017, Farkoni sent its first trial shipment of 80,000 packages of seasonings to the US, which will be sold in supermarkets in California.
By introducing these new products and utilizing modern technologies for processing, Farkoni is increasing its collection and sale of dried and processed herbs, fruits, and berries from local farmers. To date, Farkoni has created 46 new rural jobs and collected raw materials from more than 400 farmers; providing an income of more than 1.5 million GEL.
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