* The wine would have originated in Georgia 8,000 years ago

* Worsening hail and extreme weather conditions leading to increasing grape losses

* Farmers turn to hail rockets – planting hazelnuts

By Umberto Bacchi

TBILISI, October 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Grapes from Solomon Nersezashvili’s vineyard were almost ripe when a severe hailstorm hit in late August. In just 30 minutes, the ice wiped out most of the harvest – and months of hard work.

Such storms have long plagued Georgia’s Kakheti region at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, considered by many to be the birthplace of wine.

But their increasing frequency and intensity – a problem linked to climate change – has sparked debate about the future of viticulture in Georgia, including among those close to Nersezashvili.

The summer storm cost their family business $ 200,000 in lost income, according to the 52-year-old man, who decided ten years ago to branch out into hazelnuts, which the farm sells to the maker of Nutella Ferrero.

“My brother said we should remove the vineyard and plant nuts,” Nersezashvili said, as he gazed at a collapsed vine.

“We will need a lot of money to repair the vineyard and prepare it for next year, and the harvest will not be as good anyway because the plants have been damaged.”

Wine and grapes account for nearly 9% of Georgia’s exports, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, and the country’s vineyards are also a major tourist draw as its wine is becoming increasingly popular internationally.

But in recent years, around 100 Kakheti grape growers have switched partially or fully to nuts, a crop that is both more resilient and more profitable, said Nika Beriashvili of the Georgian Rural Development Agency (RDA).

CLOUD SEEDING

To solve the hail problem, the Georgian government revived a Soviet-era cloud-seeding system, using rockets to transport silver iodide through the sky to prevent ice formation, ensuring that it falls rather in the form of rain.

Managed by the Department of Defense, the system uses 80 launchers operated from the offices of a public defense contractor, STC Delta, which uses radar and weather forecasts to decide where to aim and when to fire.

In the past year alone, the company said it had launched 4,700 rockets, each costing around 1,400 lari ($ 450).

The system has blind spots, especially in late summer when the grapes are ripe but hail clouds form at higher elevations and the rockets have to travel further, meaning that they can cover less ground, said Khatuna Elbakidze, Delta’s science consultant.

Still, the company gives credit to the system for preventing around 90 million lari in agricultural damage over the past three years.

Some farmers are less enthusiastic.

“They’re firing rockets and it’s still hailing,” said Isabal Sologashvili, a 79-year-old man whose vineyard was also devastated in August.

After the August hailstorm, the government pledged to buy all damaged grapes and pay Lari 3,000 per hectare to farmers whose harvest was wiped out.

The government is already subsidizing wine growers by fixing the purchase price and covering the difference if the market price is lower. The unsold grapes are bought back by a public wine company.

The subsidies have kept tens of thousands of small farmers exposed to climate risks afloat.

But critics say this money has been provided for political rather than economic reasons, as it incentivizes quantity over quality – and the costs are not sustainable in the long run as climate impacts worsen.

SAVINGS COVER

Nino Zambakhidze, head of the Georgian Farmers Association, said the money would be better spent helping farmers invest in their business and prepare for the pressures of climate change.

Zero-rate loans to buy hail nets or hot air cannons could be useful, as could new weather stations, said winemaker John Wurdeman, who complains of having to check a forecast from a Norwegian supplier because local forecasts are not as accurate.

Insurance is another issue. A government insurance plan offers subsidized coverage for wine growers, but farmers complain that the package only covers grapes, leaving out damage to vines and hail or frost that strike early.

The compensation follows the state subsidy system, which broadly divides grapes into red and white, although Georgia is home to more than 500 varieties.

“It’s a little silly because there’s no difference if it’s organic, biodynamic, or a very rare variety,” said Wurdeman, an American who co-founded his natural cellar Pheasant’s Tears in 2007 and who has never been insured.

Nino Dekanoidze, who heads the GDR’s regional management service, said the government is aware that the agricultural insurance sector needs to be modernized and is working with international experts to do so.

RESILIENT

Despite its many challenges, the Georgian wine industry has grown in recent years, said Tata Jaiani of the Georgian Wine Association.

It has already proven resilient to shocks like a Russian embargo in 2008 that caused winegrowers to scramble to find alternative markets, she said.

“Wine for Georgia is not just a business, it is the culture and identity of the Georgian people and they will never stop doing it just because of the risks or the high costs,” he said. she adds.

Nersezashvili, the farmer, said that despite pressure from his brother, he couldn’t bring himself to replace the vines his father planted decades ago.

“We invested too much money and worked to reduce everything,” he said. ($ 1 = 3.1150 laris) (Report by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, edited by Claire Cozens and Laurie Goering. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers the lives of people around the world who fight for live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.