For almost 1.5 years (from late 2022 to early 2024), the first public-private partnership project in organic production was implemented in Ukraine.
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) involve cooperation between government and private business to finance, build and operate projects of social significance or those creating public goods.
In 2021, the programme “Organic Trade for Development in Eastern Europe” (OT4D) announced a call for public-private partnership projects in Albania, Serbia and Ukraine. The aim of the PPP projects was to support organic export businesses, as well as to increase the production and trade capacities of organic sector stakeholders in the three countries to improve their competitiveness on the international market. The mandatory conditions were set to create added value, promote new jobs, create public benefits for the organic sector, develop capacity and promote the development of organic business in the countries.
Unfortunately, the full-scale war made its adjustments here as well, as the projects were scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2022. However, the project “Development of Organic Berry Production in Territorial Communities of Rivne Region” was launched only at the end of 2022.
The partners in this project were Switzerland through the programme “Organic Trade for Development in Eastern Europe” (OT4D) and a consortium consisting of Organic Life (Germany) and RSN Trade (Ukraine). The aim of the project was to create export chains for the supply and processing of organic berries, and to actively disseminate practical and theoretical knowledge of organic farming to farmers and students in Rivne region.
How did the project work and what did the government, community, business, and educators achieve together, and are there any prospects for similar projects in the future?
The main success factor and driver behind this project are the people who have united to achieve common goals. Thanks to this synergy, almost all the project’s goals were achieved.
One of the goals is to increase knowledge about organic production in Rivne region. To achieve this goal, the training was conducted for representatives of Korets, Hoshcha, Ostroh and Pryvilne communities. The training consisted of 8 modules of a theoretical course on organic berry and vegetable production and a practical part on the organic farm of Tetiana Melnyk.
The training course was developed by one of the best organic berry consultants, Anna Lutsko. Despite the fact that only 92 participants were able to take part in the course, information about organic production was disseminated to all residents of the communities involved in the project. In addition, based on the results of the training, a manual on organic berry production and a video course were developed which are available to everyone.
A curriculum in “Ecological Farming” was also developed for students of Pryvilne Lyceum. As part of the education system reform in Ukraine, the lyceum plans to focus on agricultural education as a core area of study and, above all, plans to teach agroecological approaches to agricultural production, so the foundation is being laid now. Currently, the lyceum has an ecological farming club where those interested can join in theoretical and practical classes. At least 140 lyceum students have received basic information on organic production, and about 20 are actively involved in the club.
In addition, Pryvilne territorial community has allocated 0.3 ha for a training and research plot for the lyceum. In 2023, the plot was cleared and prepared for agricultural work, planted with green manure for winter, and in spring 2024, wheat was sown as a transitional crop. Thanks to Enza Zaden company, which was actively involved in the project, pumpkins were sown on part of the plot in spring 2024.
Thanks to the project, the lyceum also received a mini tractor, and other community partners helped to purchase suspension equipment for it. The equipment has already been used on the plot and will continue to be used, including for the community’s social needs. It is expected that students will use the experimental plot for scientific and practical work in the field of organic farming. A concept for further development of the plot is currently developed, as the community is also interested in making the plot a demonstration site not only for the lyceum students.
Representatives of the Department of Soil Science at the Institute of Agroecology and Land Management of the National University of Water and Environmental Management (NUWEM) also help with this. As part of the project, a modern mobile soil laboratory was purchased for the department, which is already used by specialists from the institute and university. Students of Pryvilne Lyceum also got acquainted with the laboratory and conducted soil tests on the research plot. The soil analysis results will be a basis for the plot concept development.
It is also worth noting that the university and lyceum signed a memorandum of cooperation, which is the basis not only for joint projects but also for ensuring the continuity of the educational process. At the end of May, the university opened an organic classroom which will be used as a base for a mobile soil laboratory and will be equipped with information and visual materials.
In the frame of the project “Development of Organic Berry Production in Territorial Communities of Rivne Region”, 15.1 hectares were certified for growing organic raspberries in Ostroh district. In 2023, about 10 tonnes of berries were harvested, and in 2024, a harvest of 20-30 tonnes is expected. About 50 participants of the training course from Ostroh and Pryvilne communities also received organic raspberry seedlings to grow on their own plots.
Building a shop for quick freezing of berries had to become one of the important results of the project. Unfortunately, its reconstruction could not be completed by the end of the project due to the full-scale war, the prolonged blockade of the borders, and other circumstances. However, the work is ongoing, and the equipment for the shop has already been purchased. The freezing shop is located in Ostroh district, just 10 km from an organic field, which will allow delivering berries quickly and without loss of quality, thus creating added value for the product. The capacity of the shop is 80 tonnes per year.
The project has made it possible to retain and create new jobs. At least 4 jobs have been retained in Pryvilne community through the introduction of an organic farming training programme, and about 20 more jobs will be created in Ostroh community when the quick-freezing shop starts operating.
“Switzerland has been supporting public-private partnership projects in Ukraine for many years, and this is the first time such a project has been implemented in the field of organic production,” says Viktor Shutkevych, Assistant Country Director of Cooperation program of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine. “This project format has proven itself well and allows us to attract additional investment, create new jobs and public benefits. And we see this in the results of the project implemented in Rivne region. In general, public-private partnership projects can become a model for the development and recovery of Ukraine.”
It should be noted that Switzerland has been actively supporting the agri-food sector of Ukraine for over 20 years, focusing on the development of organic agriculture, farmers’ access to finance, food safety, and building trade opportunities for Ukrainian farmers.
The project implementers, Organic Life GmbH and RSN Trade LLC, already have preliminary agreements on further sale of organic products in the EU and, together with the partners involved, are already developing new joint projects.
Kateryna Shor, National Coordinator of OT4D in Ukraine, coordinator of OrganicInfo.ua
Detailed information on the project results, as well as a manual and a video course are available on the website https://rsntrade.com.ua.