On 13 June, the Lviv Agrarian Chamber, with the support of the EU project ‘Institutional and Policy Reform of Small-Scale Agriculture in Ukraine’ (IPRSA) and the I. V. Popovich Department of Enterprise Economics, Innovation and Agricultural Extension at the S. Z.Gzhytsky, an educational and informational training session entitled “Good Agricultural Practice and the Role of Agricultural Extension in Wartime and the Post-War Period” took place.
The event brought together practising advisors, agricultural producers and academics to discuss current issues in agricultural advisory services and analyse best agricultural practices in the Lviv region.
In her welcoming address to the participants, Tetiana Hetman, Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development at the Lviv Regional State Administration, emphasised the importance of developing agricultural advisory services to support small and medium-sized farms, which is a current European practice.
Mykola Moroz, Head of the Department at the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, addressed the participants with an opening speech, in which he outlined in detail the main provisions of the recently presented Strategy for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas in Ukraine for the period up to 2030, which is geared towards preparing for EU accession.
Ihor Vuytsyk, Chairman of the Lviv Agrarian Chamber, highlighted the importance of cooperation between advisory services in the Lviv region and researchers for the effective implementation of best practices in the development of agricultural enterprises.
Lyudmyla Honcharenko, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural and Industrial Development at the Lviv Regional State Administration, outlined a range of pressing issues on which farmers require advisory services, particularly regarding financial and credit support and technological assistance.
Mykola Savka, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region at the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, highlighted the key steps towards ensuring the balanced development of rural areas and the transformation of farms into environmentally focused and diversified businesses.
Kateryna Krykunenko, Deputy Project Manager (IPRSA), highlighted the issue of the sustainability of the agri-food sector in the context of post-war recovery.
Pavlo Muzyka, President of the Lviv Agrarian Chamber, highlighted the importance of innovation in providing socially oriented advisory services and support for small family farms.
Project Expert (IPRSA) Richard Rozwadowski moderated a group brainstorming session on the specific challenges of implementing good agricultural practices by farmers across different sectoral specialisations.
The successful implementation of new agricultural technologies, interesting marketing approaches, and the expansion of agricultural business opportunities through international grant programmes were presented to the training participants by farm managers: Lyudmila Tuchak, head of the ‘Dobrobut West’ Farming Enterprise; Oksana Prokopenko, CEO of Kraft Food Factory LLC; and Yevhen Nahirny, head of the ‘Agrogen’ Farming Enterprise
Lively thematic discussions took place throughout the event.
At the end, Mykola Savka, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, presented Professor Pavlo Muzyka with the “Certificate of Honour from the Presidium of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine” for his significant contribution to the development of the sector as Head of the Department of Enterprise Economics, Innovation and Advisory Services in the Agrarian Sector named after I.V. Popovich. The organisers presented certificates to all participants of the training and information session.
