The Organic Leadership Course was developed by IFOAM – Organics International more than 10 years ago to support existing and potential leaders who search for truly sustainable changes in agriculture. It’s organized for the first time in Ukraine.
20 participants from different regions of Ukraine who represent the public sector, business, science and education, advisory services and government agencies, gathered in early November for a kick-off session. Among the course participants are those who have been working in the organic sector for more than 10 years, there are also beginners who are just starting to learn about organic production, but already understand that this is the future.
During the week, participants learned about the basics of organic production, the history of the organic movement and the formation of standards in different countries. International experts from IFOAM – Organics International and IFOAM Organics Europe covered important issues regarding the place of organic production in the world food system, the concept of sustainable food systems, the true value of products and more.
There were also several presentations from Ukrainian experts: Mykola Bykov, a consultant on organic production, spoke about soil sustainability, as it’s the basis of agricultural production; Konstantyn Zhytnetskyy, an expert at Organic Standard, explained how certification of organic production is happening in Ukraine.
Two important blocks of the course – advocacy and communication – caused a lot of discussion among the participants. Because it is very important to find the right arguments for different target groups to promote organic production and organic food. Of course, arguments regarding children’s health will be important when addressing parents, and the economic benefits of organic production will be important to business.
Participants had the opportunity not only to learn about the experience of other countries, but also to discuss the possibilities of its implementation in Ukraine. The training was accompanied, of course, by practical tasks.
Future leaders were also able to see how the livestock complex “Galeks-Agro” operates and to visit facilities of “Organic Milk” for processing organic dairy products, which is one of the leading organic farms in Ukraine. Both companies are part of the vertically integrated company PE “Galeks-Agro”, which also includes a factory for processing organic meat products LLC “Organic Meat” and “Domestic Chicken” farm, which produces organic eggs.
The first session ended and, inspired by the course, the participants went back home to think about their own development projects in the field of organic production, which they will have to defend during the second face-to-face meeting in 9-10 months. Till that time, participants will have webinars, communication with experts and individual tasks within the course.
The Organic Leadership Course in Ukraine is organized with the support of Switzerland within the framework of the Organic Trade 4 Development in Eastern Europe (OT4D) Program implemented by IFOAM – Organics International in partnership with HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland).