ISET students Ana Akoposhvili and Ketevan Melkadze came second place in the Mariam Kutelia Research Grant competition. They took part during their internship at a USAID-funded project, Restoring Efficiency to Agricultural Production. The purpose of the competition was to write the proposals on how to improve the current state of the Georgian agricultural sector. The ISET students were awarded another paid internship at the Agricultural Policy Research Center (APRC) between April 15 and June 15.

As an intern, Ketevan is responsible for conducting desk research regarding the best international practices on reporting agricultural commodity prices and their distribution among farmers. Based on her literature critique, Ketevan is hoping to write a literature review on the evaluation methods of cooperatives’ performance. Ketevan also works on indicators evaluating the performance of Georgian cooperatives and assists ENPARD team during the field work. Working at APRC as a researcher, Ana is involved in the activities related to the Food Price Index (FPI). She is also drafting a blog regarding the growth potential of the Georgian strawberry business.

This two month internship is very important for both the students themselves and APRC. Ana and Ketevan will gain experience working independently, as well as become more familiar with data analysis and secondary research. For its part, the APRC will be able to use the knowledge and skills of talented ISET students.