The first session of the conference, dedicated to discussing strategic directions for the development of Ukraine's agricultural sector, was opened by Michael Stahlschmidt on behalf of the Danish Council for Agriculture and Food and Danish Ambassador to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, who expressed their solidarity with Ukraine and their readiness to continue supporting and cooperating in the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine. Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Vitaliy Koval thanked the Government of Denmark for its consistent support for Ukraine in general and its agricultural sector in particular. He cited the example of an agricultural enterprise in the Mykolaiv region, which, thanks to a 15-year loan from Danish partners, has renewed its fleet of agricultural machinery. The Minister also called on Danish and Ukrainian businesses to strengthen financial cooperation to strengthen the economies of both countries.
Serhiy Tkachuk, Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, noted that joint investments in the Ukrainian agricultural sector, especially in the agricultural processing industry, will improve the basic conditions for entering global markets, and the State Service is ready to facilitate the deepening of bilateral cooperation and foreign trade in every way possible.
Pavlo Martyshev, an expert on agri-food markets, analysis and modelling of prices for agricultural products, exchange trading and value chains at the Agrocentre of the Kyiv School of Economics, provided an assessment of the impact of the war on Ukrainian agriculture. He noted that in the first two years since the full-scale invasion, direct agricultural losses amounted to more than $10 billion. Losses due to lost income and increased production costs for agricultural producers are 6.8 times higher, and the total needs for reconstruction and restoration over the next ten years are estimated at $56 billion. The topic of financial support for the Ukrainian agricultural sector was continued by Larisa Bondareva, Deputy Chair of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank Aval, who spoke about the state programme of affordable loans ‘5-7-9’, its key performance indicators and the main requirements for companies wishing to take advantage of this opportunity. Oleksiy Parkhomchuk, Investment Director at IFU (Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries) in Ukraine, shared the main results of the fund's work and interesting projects currently being financed. Over the years, the fund has financed projects for five pig farms in Ukraine, three of which are currently active.
A number of Danish commercial companies that visited Ukraine also shared their experience of cooperation with Ukrainian pork producers. In particular, Linka Energy, a company specialising in the development and optimisation of environmentally friendly energy sources based on biomass, implemented a project in cooperation with the Niva Pereyaslavshchyna Group: an automatic 2 MW straw-fired boiler was installed at the company's feed mill, generating 3 tonnes of steam per hour.
More attention was paid to Danish-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of animal husbandry during the relevant section, which was moderated by Oleksandra Bondarska, Vice President of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders. Outlining the current state of the pig farming industry, she summarised the main challenges and barriers for the industry ‘on the threshold’ of European integration. ‘Despite the difficulties currently facing the pig farming business, we note that the key players in the industry are committed to restoring lost capacity and further development. At the same time, the long history of partnership with Danish companies and the adoption of their best practices and experience will significantly support Ukrainian businesses on their path to European integration,’ commented Ms Bondarska.
KSG Agro Director Yevhen Badogin shared his experience of cooperation with Danish genetics suppliers Breeders Ukraine, while the director of the aforementioned genetics company, Olena Vasilevich, outlined the company's path to improving sustainability and implementing ESG approaches through the improvement of breeding programmes.
The section also paid special attention to the dairy sector: Anna Lavreniuk, CEO of the Milk Producers Association, shared the story of the sustainability and recovery of a dairy farm, a representative of SKOV-SECCO spoke about climate and digital solutions for managing dairy farms, and the executive director of the Association of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine outlined the prospects for the development of the milk processing sector in Ukraine.
Another session of the conference was devoted to bioenergy and the possibilities of using agricultural waste for energy production. Roman Kantarovsky, Head of the External Investment Projects Department, shared the experience of the VITAGRO group of companies in implementing a biomethane project and its potential for scaling up. During the presentation of Ukrainian companies' future plans, a company representative spoke about the creation of a new industrial park, Future Industry Hub, in the Khmelnytskyi region, which will become a powerful hub for the meat processing industry. According to the project, with an estimated total investment of about UAH 1 billion, registered by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in autumn 2024, investors will create enterprises for the processing of pork and chicken, a complex for the production of semi-finished meat products, sausages and canned food, as well as a refrigeration facility for meat storage on an area of 10 hectares. The Zoryn dairy complex, organic livestock and crop producer Staryi Porytsk LLC, and Klub Syru LLC also presented their development achievements.
In addition to the above-mentioned companies and industry associations, JEMA AGRO, Lachenmeier Monsun, Cimbria and Cimbria took part in the event, presenting innovative technologies for grain storage and transportation and discussing ways to strengthen partnerships in a session with representatives of the Ukrainian Grain Association, NIBULON LLC and Astarta-Kyiv Holding.
The conference served as a platform for discussing opportunities for the development of Ukraine's agro-industrial sector, with a particular focus on innovative solutions and sustainable development, strengthening bilateral cooperation between Ukrainian and Danish businesses.