The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will give Georgia $3.5 million to help in combating the country’s stink bug infestation problem.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between USAID’s Assistant Administrator Brock Bierman and Georgia’s Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili was signed on March 5.
The USAID will purchase equipment and supplies such as traps, lures, tractors and sprayers for Georgia’s Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture, Agenda.ge reported.
The brown marmorated stink bug, which damages crops, is widespread in Georgia and a real nuisance to Georgian farmers. The pest was first reported in Georgia in 2015. In 2016, the bugs destroyed a significant portion of the hazelnut harvest in West Georgia. 2017 was even more devastation and struck a wider area.
