Online conference "Current challenges in Ukrainian agribusiness" on Aug 22, 2022
Here is a selection from the numerous speeches:
In his welcoming speech, Denys Bashlyk, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization at the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, spoke about the successes in maintaining production and restoring logistics: "Ukrainian agricultural producers are our true defenders and heroes. Thanks to their tireless work, as of today we have already brought in 18 million tons of harvest. In addition, we have managed to export 1.9 million tons of agricultural products." However, the lack of storage capacity remains problematic, he said. Mr. Bashlyk also acknowledged the assistance of international partners, especially Germany.
Dr. Ophelia Nick, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), expressed solidarity with Ukraine and stressed the importance of further cooperation within the framework of the agricultural policy dialogue. She stressed the importance of accurate forecasts for sowing and the expected harvest and pointed out the contribution of the German company BayWa/Vista, which has provided the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture with an appropriate tool for making such forecasts free of charge.
The functions of the tool were presented by Dr. Heike Bach from BayWa/Vista. The World Bank and Kyiv Polytechnic University are already using the tool to make forecasts of seed area and yields.
Kay Winkelmann, an expert on explosive ordnance disposal in APD's Soil Dialogue, spoke about the cost of clearing and returning to productive cultivation of contaminated land in Ukraine, which he estimated at up to 4 billion euros. Mr. Winkelmann emphasized the need to continuously document the contamination of land in order to plan the clearing work accordingly.
Mykola Pugachov, Deputy Head of the Institute of Agricultural Economics, pointed out the importance of reliable statistics and evidence-based forecasts as a basis for agricultural policy decisions: "It is extremely difficult to obtain valid data in times of war, because the situation can change very quickly. But you can rely on satellite-based information, which is more timely and accurate." His institute is developing an approach to assessing and documenting losses borne by land-based businesses, which is especially important if those businesses want to be reimbursed for damages.
The entire event, including all the speeches, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YI_fXX_9AM&t=55s