Conference of the APD Ukraine at Agritechnica 2023
Agritechnica in Hanover, the world's largest trade fair for agricultural technology with more than 2,500 exhibitors from over 50 countries, was one of the stops on the study tour of the German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD), with participants from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine (MAPE), the Verkhovna Rada, the Chamber of Commerce of Ukraine, the Agricultural Union of Ukraine (member of UNAF) and the Association of Professional Beekeepers of Ukraine, among others.
The trade fair is accompanied by an extensive programme of events, which this year also included the Ukraine Conference on "How can integration into the EU and sustainable reconstruction succeed?" on 15.11.2023. The event was organised by APD Ukraine, DLG e.V. - Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft and the project "German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture" and moderated by Mariya Yaroshko, project manager of APD.
First, Mykola Melnyk from MAPE and Anna Danyliak from the non-governmental organisation EcoAction spoke about the current situation in Ukrainian agriculture. In the subsequent panel discussion, Mikhailina Kaparulina, Director of AGRO PARTNER 777, Oleksandra Avramenko, Director of the Committee for European Integration of the UCAB, Olexandr Starynets, Director of the Secretariat of the Agricultural Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Alexander Zein, Production Manager at UIFK-Agro GmbH, and Martin Ritter, Director of Ritter Bio Agro LLC, exchanged views on various aspects of the current political, social and economic situation in Ukrainian agriculture. In addition, thoughts and scenarios on future prospects were discussed with the audience.
The war is increasingly presenting Ukrainian farms with major challenges: rising prices for inputs, logistical problems, mined and uncultivated production areas, liquidity problems, labour shortages, etc. However, the panel discussion also showed that the farms are continuing to work hard and find new solutions. For example, they are adapting their crop rotations and continuously looking for better marketing channels.
In addition, topics such as the reconstruction of the Ukrainian agricultural sector in connection with EU integration, the implementation of ecological business practices and the experiences of Ukrainian companies were discussed. The experts emphasised that a stable and sustainable development of the agricultural sector should be pursued through a close exchange of experience between large and small companies and the targeted use of expertise and financing opportunities.
The organic farming and APD Ukraine projects are funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The organic farming project is being implemented by AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants GmbH (AFC, lead partner) and IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH (IAK). The APD Ukraine is being implemented by IAK (lead partner), AFC and IAMO (Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies).