On 12 April in Lviv, on the initiative of the Lviv Agrarian Chamber and the Department of Enterprise Economics, Innovation and Agricultural Advisory Services named after I.V. Popovich at the S.Z. Gzhytsky, a round table discussion was held on “A Model for the Innovative Development of Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Advisory Services in the Context of War and the Post-War Period”.

The participants of the round table were addressed by the head of the Lviv Agrarian Chamber, Ihor Vuytsyk, and the chair of the standing committee on agribusiness, entrepreneurship and investment of the Lviv Regional Council, Yurii Radelytskyi, who emphasised the importance of innovation in agribusiness for ensuring food security.

In his speech, Ihor Vuytsyk highlighted the relevance of effectively organising the advisory system in the face of the current challenges facing agricultural producers. A significant part of Ihor Vuytsyk’s presentation was devoted to highlighting the provisions of Order No. 989 of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine dated 28 March 2024 “On the Approval of the Action Plan for the Introduction of a System for Providing Information and Methodological Support Regarding the Organisation of Agricultural Advisory Activities”.

The President of the European Academy of Innovative Providing, Academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, Professor Hryhorii Sedilo outlined a range of issues concerning the innovative development of entrepreneurship in rural areas, in particular the challenges facing dairy farming and the problems of organising value chains.

Tetyana Hetman, Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development at the Lviv Regional State Administration, drew attention in her report to organisational support for the development of agrarian entrepreneurship at the level of the region’s territorial communities.  

Mykola Savka, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region at the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, emphasised in his speech the key areas of innovative development in farming within the Carpathian region.

Petro Komar, Head of the Western Branch of the State Enterprise “Ukrainian State Centre for Radio Frequencies”, summarised the use of telecommunications technologies to enhance the efficiency of agricultural entrepreneurship. Despite challenging circumstances, agricultural producers are actively implementing technological solutions using modern technologies to maximise the efficient use of resource potential.

Lyudmyla Honcharenko, Deputy Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development at the Lviv Regional State Administration, highlighted in her speech the significant trends in the development of family farming in the region under martial law and the support provided to them. Separate financial support in this year’s regional budget will be allocated to funding the development of agricultural cooperatives in the Lviv region. 

In his speech, Professor Pavlo Muzyka highlighted the issue of bioeconomy development to ensure the sustainable innovative progress of the agri-food sector at the regional level in the context of European integration.

Hanna Hnativ, Head of the Department of the Regional Branch of the State Property Fund for Lviv, Zakarpattia and Volyn regions, drew attention to the issue of effective management of state property in rural areas. Considerable attention was paid to analysing the use of state-owned agricultural land in the three regions.

Ivan Stefanyshyn, an expert on rural development, emphasised the importance of adopting European approaches to organising value chains and ensuring effective food safety controls.

Ivan Kilgan, Chairman of the Sambir Farmers’ Association and head of the “Agro Centre” farm, highlighted the activities of farmers in the Sambir district in introducing innovations and ensuring food security.

Ivan Pankiv, President of the National Association of Agricultural Advisory Services of Ukraine and Director of the Lviv Agricultural Advisory Service, drew attention to key trends in the development of advisory services and the implementation of the action plan for European integration. According to Ivan Pankiv, Ukraine’s advisory system needs to engage more actively with its European counterparts in implementing initiatives for the innovative development of farming.   

Stepan Poperechnyi, Head of the Marketing Department at the S.Z. Gzhytskyi Lviv National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology, spoke in detail about updating marketing strategies for the agricultural sector in conditions of uncertainty. 

Other lecturers from the S.Z. Gzhytskyi Lviv National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology also presented thematic reports on topical issues regarding the development of agribusiness based on innovation.

Oleg Beizik, Vice-President of the Lviv Agricultural Chamber and Director of the ‘Kamianka Lisova’ Agricultural Cooperative, spoke about the main trends in the implementation of organisational innovations for the development of the berry-growing sector in one of the local communities in the Lviv district.

Marian Lozinsky, Associate Professor at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, provided a detailed overview of innovative approaches to organising information support for farmers on issues of innovative development.

During the round table, substantive presentations were given by Ivan Pankevych, Vice-President of the European Academy of Innovative Provisioning and Professor at the University of Zielona Góra in the Republic of Poland, and Adam Erechmiel, Doctor of Law and Professor at the University of Humanities and Natural Sciences in Sandomierz, and a member of the Presidium of the European Academy of Innovative Provisioning, Adam Erechmela.

Vasyl Hulyaygrodsky, a member of the Lviv Agrarian Chamber, highlighted the potential for domestic producers to compete in the European hop market, provided that innovative technologies are implemented.

At the end of the round table meeting, Pavlo Mykhailovych Muzyka was awarded honorary certificates from the Lviv Regional Council and the Department of Agro-Industrial Development of the Lviv Regional State Administration on the occasion of his recent anniversary.

The round-table participants adopted a resolution addressed to state authorities at various levels to boost the innovative component of the agro-industrial complex’s development, which provides for:

The creation of a permanent interactive platform and a database of three agricultural advisory services in the Lviv region, which will work to address the following tasks, namely:

Developing an online platform for the exchange of experience, information and technologies in the field of agriculture and processing, involving advisory services, scientific and financial-credit institutions, and state bodies. Strengthening the role of agricultural advisory services as one of the key components of the agricultural knowledge and innovation system.

Developing support programmes for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises to ensure their access to finance, the latest technologies and markets.

Continuous training and professional development: – organising training courses, seminars and workshops on agriculture for farmers, smallholder farms, rural communities and other sector stakeholders in specific areas. Communication, demonstrations, group work, use of modern technologies and artificial intelligence, organising and attending exhibitions, and more.

Promoting innovation: Supporting innovative projects in agriculture through grant programmes and competitions. Assistance with drafting business plans and project proposals.

Green urbanisation: Development of green approaches in rural areas, including measures to eradicate the population of Sosnowski’s hogweed and other invasive plant species, and the introduction of energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources. Introduction of relevant standards and requirements in the field of food safety, including for exports, and adherence to the principles of sustainable production.

Partnership with the public: Engaging civil society organisations and local initiatives in effective oversight of the implementation of rural development projects, particularly regarding the use of public funding.

Continuous coverage of successful practices: Promoting innovations in science, technology and civil society through the media, primarily via the print and online publication ‘AgroForum Bulletin’

Source: Lviv Agrarian Chamber.