Georgia is often called a country where products are “as before.” This is partly true: local varieties of wheat and grapes still grow here, their own breed of bees lives, and many families make churchkhela and tkemali according to grandmothers’ recipes. But a pure product does not appear by itself. Farmers have to fight for it - with neighbors' pesticides, hail, frost and cheap imports.

We tell you what Georgian farmers save, what they have to face, what the words “bio” and “no additives” on the label mean by law, and how to choose a product you can trust.

What farmers save

Local wheat

Georgia is one of the birthplaces of wheat. 14–15 of the approximately 20 species of wheat known in the world grow here, and five of them are found nowhere else. Local species and varieties - makha, zanduri, dika, Akhaltsikhe red doli - have their own names and their own history.

In December 2025, UNESCO included the Georgian wheat crop, based on local endemic varieties, on the list of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. In 2025, Georgia donated more than 200 samples of wheat, corn and bean seeds to the World Seed Vault on Spitsbergen. And in June 2026, the first Meskhetian wheat seed bank of its kind was reported in the Niala Valley in Aspindza.

Farmers themselves help save seeds. The Elkana Association, which has been operating since 1994, distributes seeds of old varieties, and after the harvest farmers return one and a half times as much so that the next farms receive the seeds.

“If we lose this heritage, what else will we have?” — farmer Anzor Maisuradze from Nabakhtevi, who grows local endemic wheat, in an interview with Al Jazeera, 2022.

Grapes and qvevri

More than 400 names of local grape varieties are known in Georgia, many of them are collected in the national collection in Dzhigura. The traditional way of making wine in qvevri - clay vessels buried in the ground - has been included in the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List since 2013.

This is how the CH’VENTAN farm from Mshalgori in Kakheti works: wine here is made in qvevri from its own grapes.

Caucasian gray mountain bee

Georgia is the homeland of the Caucasian gray mountain bee. She has one of the longest proboscis of any honeybee, so she reaches deep flowers for nectar. Previously, the law prohibited the import of bee colonies into the country in order to preserve the purity of the breed, but since 2011 this ban has not been in effect. Some beekeepers import other breeds, and the local bee is in danger of mixing with them.

Since 2017, a state base has been operating in Mukhuri, Samegrelo, where queens of the local breed are bred and cleaned of hybrids. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture calls the Georgian bee unique, and its protection and breeding is an important task.

Tea

During Soviet times, Georgia had about 67 thousand hectares of tea plantations. After the collapse of the USSR, most of the plantations were overgrown. In 2016, the state launched a tea plantation rehabilitation program, and by the spring of 2025, 2,050 hectares of plantations had been restored with its help. Small family farms collect the leaves again and make black and green tea - like "Family Tea House", whose tea is in our catalogue.

What you have to fight with

Pesticides

According to the Heinrich Böll Foundation, pesticide use in Georgia has increased approximately fivefold since 2006. As of 2024, more than 500 active substances were registered in the country, and Georgian laboratories could test the residues of no more than 70 of them.

For a small farm, this means a simple thing: even if the farmer himself does not use chemicals, it can get onto his plot from a neighboring field.

Bees suffer the most. According to the rules, fields are sprayed with pesticides in the evening or early in the morning, and the hives are taken 1–5 km away during this time or the bees are covered. From 2024, aerial spraying is prohibited, except in exceptional cases with a permit. But in a 2022 honey market study, beekeepers named uncontrolled use of pesticides among their top challenges.

Weather

Hail, late frosts and floods became commonplace. In 2021, hail damaged about 4,600 hectares of vineyards in Kakheti, strong hail occurred there in September 2023, and in September 2025, hail destroyed grapes in the villages of Vardisubani and Ruispiri near Telavi. In the spring of 2025, frosts destroyed orchards in Kakheti and Shida Kartli, and in the spring of 2026, in a number of villages in Guria, the kiwi crop was almost completely destroyed, and tkemali was also damaged.

A small farm has no safety margin: one hailstorm can leave you without a crop for a whole year.

Empty villages

People are leaving the mountainous regions. From 2002 to 2022, the population of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti decreased by more than a third. Along with people, knowledge also leaves: how to keep bees in the mountains, how to dry fruits, which varieties grow best in this valley.

What does “bio” mean on the label

In Georgia, the words “bio,” “organic,” and “eco” on labels are protected by law. They can only be used if the product’s compliance is confirmed by a certificate. Currently, the rules are established by the government decree “On Bioproduction” of 2013, and from January 1, 2027, a new technical regulation on organic production, adopted in 2023, will come into force instead. Labeling is controlled by the National Food Agency.

It is not easy for a small farm to obtain a certificate:

the transition to organic production takes 2–3 years, and during this time the product cannot yet be called “bio”;
according to the certification body “Kavkazsert”, during the transition period inspectors come to the farm at least twice a year;
according to his 2022 estimate, initial certification cost about $1,500–$2,000;
you need to keep detailed records of everything that is done on the field and with the harvest.

In 2022, the state launched a co-financing program: it covers up to 70% of the costs of certification and consultations. But for many families the procedure is still too complicated. And a product without a certificate cannot be called “bio”, no matter how it is made.

We do what the law requires: we do not write “bio,” “eco,” or “organic” on products that do not have a certificate. If the manufacturer has a certificate, we will indicate this on their company card.

“No additives”: what the law says

The word “additives” in the law means food additives - colorings, preservatives, flavor enhancers and other substances with code E. Only additives from a state-approved list can be used, and they are prohibited in unprocessed foods unless the list specifically allows them. Additives that perform a function in the finished product are indicated in the composition on the label.

For some products the law is stricter:

Honey.According to the technical regulations on honey, adding food additives and any other ingredients to it is prohibited. Therefore, the inscription “honey without additives” does not say anything about a specific jar - any honey should be like that. The National Food Agency tests honey: in 2024, banned antibiotics were found in 5 out of 100 samples.

Churchkhela is traditionally made from boiled grape juice, flour and nuts, and since 2011 its name has been a geographical indication of Georgia. But the recipes are different: sometimes sugar is added to the mass. In Kakheti churchkhela with walnuts from our catalog there is no added sugar - the sweetness comes from the grape juice itself.

How to choose a clean product

-Read the ingredients.As a rule, a packaged product should have it on the label. The shorter and clearer it is, the better you know what you are eating.
-Check “bio.”If the label says “bio,” “eco,” or “organic,” look for the name of the body that issued the certificate.
-Don’t overpay for the obvious.“Honey without additives” is the norm, not a special feature.
-Know the manufacturer.When it is clear who, where and how made the product, it is easier to trust it. Ask what it is made of and how it is stored.
-Consider the season. Farm products depend on the harvest: if there was hail this year, there may not be enough tkemali or churchkhela for everyone.

What we do

Bazari Ara is an open platform for small Georgian producers. Volume is not important to us: the main thing is that the product is our own, homemade and made according to old recipes. The producer can tell about his farm, and we will show this story in his company card. We described how to get to us in the article about why farmers choose us, and you can leave an application on the page for producers.

Here is what from our catalog is made according to traditional recipes:

Tkemali CH’VENTAN - plum sauce with herbs and spices, it is prepared in small batches on the farm in Mshalgori.
Kakheti churchkhela with walnuts - grape juice, flour and nuts, no added sugar.
Tkemali marshmallow from Imereti and apple marshmallow from Samegrelo - the fruit mass is distributed in a thin layer and dried.
Honey from five regions: for example, chestnut honey from Racha and pine honey from Tori.
Svan salt - salt, garlic and herbs.
Second-grade tea from “Family Tea Room” - classic black tea: May leaf is withered, rolled, fermented and dried.

If the product is in our warehouse, we will deliver it in Tbilisi within 2 hours. We take the rest from the manufacturer for your order.

Briefly

Georgian farmers are preserving local varieties of wheat and grapes, the Caucasian gray mountain bee and old tea plantations.
The main threats are pesticides, hail and frost, as well as emptying mountain villages.
The words “bio”, “eco” and “organic” on the label can by law only be used with a certificate, and many small farms do not have one.
By law, nothing can be added to honey, so “honey without additives” is the norm.
To choose a pure product, read the ingredients and find out who made it.
Producers who want to sell through us can leave a request on the page for producers.

Categories

Preserving nature: how Georgian farmers are fighting for a pure product without unnecessary additives