As part of the #EU4Business program funded by the EU and Germany, the International Agricultural Cluster “Dniester” held a panel discussion on November 30, 2023 in the village of Olgopil, Vinnytsia Region, on the topic: “Partnership between government and business to support the agricultural sector in times of crisis.”
The event was attended by agricultural producers, entrepreneurs from the fields of production of agricultural products and fertilizers, representatives of local authorities and scientific institutions. In total, there were about 89 participants.
As part of this meeting, the participants visited the production facilities of Villa Milk LLC (TM Villa Milk) in the village of Katashyn in Vinnytsia region, during which they got acquainted with the cycle of milk production at a robotic dairy farm, as well as its processing at its own factory
After the excursion, all participants gathered to discuss the presented topic in the village of Olgopil, Vinnytsia region (Agrofirma “Olgopil”). Representatives of government, business and the scientific sphere expressed their visions of the development of the agricultural sphere of Vinnytsia and Ukraine in the conditions of a full-scale war.
“Today, representatives of executive authorities have gathered here, who will talk about their vision of the development of agriculture, representatives of local self-government bodies, entrepreneurs, producers of agricultural products and people from the scientific field. I believe that this is the format that will help generate good practice and ideas. We must feel unity and understanding of each other and together find a way out of the crisis we are facing today,” Serhiy Tatusyak, President of Agrocluster “Dniester”, opened the panel discussion.
The coordinator of the international cooperation program “EU4Business: recovery, competitiveness and internationalization of SMEs” Serhii Ponomaryov talked about how the EU and Germany stimulate the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine.
“Our program is designed to support small and medium-sized businesses. It includes grant support provided to entrepreneurs, as well as training events that raise awareness among farmers. As part of the project implemented by the International Agrocluster “Dniester”, we decided to focus on innovative development, because it is very important. I call on all farmers to pay attention to interaction with clusters. This makes it possible to attract investments, help each other and develop together,” said Serhii Ponomaryev.
The panel discussion “Partnership of government and business to support the agricultural sector in crisis conditions” was attended by one of the high-ranking officials of the executive branch of the government of Vinnytsia with his team – the director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development of the Vinnytsia State Administration Oleg Sidorov. Mr. Oleg spoke about the state of the agricultural sector of our region today.
Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, joined the discussion online. He spoke about the state programs implemented to support the agricultural sector of Ukraine:
“eRobota” program provides an opportunity to receive grants for the development of horticulture, greenhouses and agricultural processing. For medium-sized entrepreneurs, there is a special program “5-7-9″, which gives the opportunity to take soft loans at 5.7 and 9 percent per annum for the development of your agricultural enterprise. We all understand that the agricultural sector is a pillar of the Ukrainian economy. That is why the state will continue to support agribusiness in order to achieve sustainable development of the country’s economy.”
This panel discussion gave the opportunity to express themselves to representatives of small businesses, who are most acutely aware of today’s challenges. Government representatives had the opportunity to hear the problems and proposals of entrepreneurs. Such events provide an opportunity to find new ways of cooperation and joint development of the agricultural sector of Vinnytsia and the whole of Ukraine.
Valuable discussions and accumulated experience became an important contribution to the planning of further steps to support the agricultural sector in the crisis. We are grateful to all participants for their active participation and significant contribution to joint efforts to develop the agrarian sector!
Reference information:
The event took place within the framework of the grant competition for systematic support of small and medium-sized enterprises within the framework of the international cooperation program “EU4Business: recovery, competitiveness and internationalization of SMEs”, which is jointly financed by the European Union and the German government.
The program is aimed at supporting economic stability, recovery and growth of Ukraine, creating better conditions for the development of Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as supporting innovation and exports.
More details: www.eu4business.org.ua
The grant competition is carried out by the Entrepreneurship Development Fund, the strategic executor of the program is the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ Ukraine) GmbH.
The implementation partner is the International Agricultural Cluster “Dniester”.
The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of the International Agricultural Cluster “Dniester” and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union, the German government, GIZ, FRP.
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