The management of the Department of Agricultural and Industrial Development of the Lviv Regional State Administration held a working meeting with Vasyl Lopushnyak, Acting Rector of Lviv National University of Natural Resources, and Bohdan Gulko, Vice-Rector for Research.
During the meeting, the results of work for 2023 were discussed; in particular, Tetyana Hetman, Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development of the Lviv Regional State Administration, highlighted the department’s activities regarding financial support for agricultural producers in the region and expressed her gratitude for the work carried out by LNUEP researchers on the project ‘Protection of biodiversity in the cross-border territories of Ukraine and Poland from the hogweed population’ under the Interreg NEXT Cross-Border Cooperation Programme ‘Poland-Ukraine 2021–2027’, as well as for the prompt development of the programme and the direct training and professional development of advisors and expert advisors at LNU.
“We have achieved good results for 2023, having allocated over 45 million UAH under the regional Comprehensive Programme for the Support and Development of Agriculture in Lviv Oblast. We can proudly state that this was the largest amount of funding for farmers in Ukraine this year. In 2024, due to military operations, a reduction in funding is planned, with almost all financial resources to be directed towards preferential loans for combatants who will be engaged in agricultural activities. The development of agricultural production and advisory services is a priority for us, one that requires systematic work in collaboration with scientists,” emphasised Tetiana Hetman.
They also discussed joint actions to implement the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS), which is being rolled out by the European Union project ‘Institutional and Policy Reform of Small-Scale Agriculture in Ukraine’ (IPRSA).
During the meeting, they agreed to jointly develop and publish a ‘Farmer’s Handbook’, hold an international forum in 2024, and update the online catalogue with new profiles of advisors and expert advisors on the regional state administration’s website.
“With the aim of informing the region’s agricultural producers about innovative developments, technological processes and recommendations for growing and caring for crops, LNU researchers are ready to systematically provide scientific articles and notes for further publication in the Agroforum Bulletin and on the department’s website. We are also ready to launch short-term targeted courses both for military personnel planning to take up farming and for all farmers in the Lviv region who wish to implement innovative developments on their farms. We are also considering the possibility of establishing an advisory service at LNU, which could provide a wide range of consultations, from accounting and tax matters to direct agronomic support. “I am confident that our joint activities with the department will contribute to the development of the region’s agriculture, advisory services and the sustainability of communities in general,” emphasised Vasyl Lopushniak, Acting Rector of Lviv National University of Natural Resources, during the conversation.