Press Release
U.S. Government Proposes Drought Relief Assistance Program in Georgia
September 15, 2000
Tbilisi -- Following Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s September 8 meeting with President Eduard Shevardnadze in New York, the United States government is pledging a total of $3,250,000 to help alleviate the effects of the severe drought in Georgia. U.S. government assistance to the drought follows the disaster declaration made in August by U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz that allowed for additional disaster assistance funding.
Drought relief activities supported by these funds will likely include:
- Assistance to approximately 8,000 vulnerable subsistence farmers in Kakheti and Samstkhe-Javakheti.
- Special drought-relief agricultural credits for farmers affected by the drought.
- Support for the purchase and delivery of wheat seed.
- Expansion of the U.S. government-funded Salvation Army feeding kitchen program to include 500 beneficiaries in Dedoplistqaro.
Additionally, the United States government is formulating a response to the upcoming World Food Programme Emergency Operation that will provide rations to approximately 695,000 vulnerable residents of drought-affected areas this winter. The U.S. Embassy is meeting regularly with the Georgian Minister of Agriculture and other Georgian government officials, other foreign governments, and international donors to coordinate assistance to small farmers and poor families suffering from the severe drought in Georgia.