Delegation from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) visited Ukraine

On 23-25 September 2024, a delegation from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) visited Ukraine. The main goal was to get a better understanding of the impact of the war on the AgriFood sector in Ukraine, meet up with local and international partners and harvest potatoes of extremely dry season.

The delegation, headed by the Director for International Agribusiness and Food Security Mr Ralf van de Beek, started the 3-day working visit with a meeting with First Deputy Minister for Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine Mr. Taras Vysotskyi. During the meeting it was agreed to restart the bilateral High Level Working Group between the Netherlands and Ukraine.

Current support was discussed such as the contribution of the Netherlands to humanitarian demining, including demining of agricultural land,  priorities in view of food security and economic development and the “ Grain from Ukraine” - a humanitarian food programme of WFP, Ukraine and parner countries. In addition, possible directions for further cooperation were explored, including support in the implementation of the EU acquis in view of Ukraine’s accession talks.

The delegation travelled for a day outside of Kyiv for field visits

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has severely impacted the potato market. The production costs grew, quality seed potatoes have become scarce and expensive, output has dropped, market demand has declined and sales prices have dropped. On top of this, climate change has put Ukraine's potato productivity under even more pressure. Summer 2024 was extremely hot and dry in Ukraine.

Being a longstanding partner for the potato sector in Ukraine, The Netherlands is funding a potato project in the framework of Ukrainian Partnership Facility (UPF) aimed at providing food security in Ukraine as well as sustainable economic growth. The project "Rebuilding Potato Ukraine", is an initiative of Dutch companies Agrico and APH for seting up a climate-smart seed potato production site and demonstration center which is funded by the Dutch Government. The main focus area is in Chernihiv oblast, in de-occupied territory of Ukraine. 

The purpose of this project is to:

• increase the availability of high-quality, affordable, locally produced seed potatoes for Ukrainian farmers;
• increase the productivity, sustainability and profitability of Ukrainian farmers;
• improve food security by increasing the availability of high-quality, affordable consumption potatoes for Ukrainian consumers;
• present Dutch know-how and equipment as a solution to challenges which are a result of climate change.

The centre will focus on potato production and education to Ukrainian farmers. Investments will be made in drip infrastructure, a cold store, and equipment. Around 3,000 farmers will be trained both physically at the demonstration centre and remotely. The climate smart potato demo centre will enable Ukrainian – small and medium sized - farmers to grow table potatoes for the local Ukrainian market. In total they will produce 53 million kgs of potatoes a year and by that, contributing to food security and sustainable economic growth.

During the visit, the delegation had the opportunity to learn more about the developments in the potato sector during the war, about the project progress as well as take part in the harvesting of potatoes in Kyiv region.

Café 21.3

In Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, you can find a Dutch café. In is not just the cosy interrior of Café 21.3 with the photos of Dutch canals that makes is DUtch. They serve traditional Dutch bitterballen, frikandelen and krentenbollen . It was not that we were worried that the Dutch delegation would miss Dutch bitterballen during their visit, but the impressive and inspiring story of Andriy and Arenda Vasylenko and their family that took us there. Andriy is director of Zeelandia Ukraine, , subsidiary of the Dutch Royal Zeelandia. They produce and supply wide range of ingredients for bakery and confectionary. They also develop local production, a laboratory and training center in Brovary.

Besides the business activities, the Vasylenko family dedicates their time and energy into humanitarian and charity activities. One focus point is on young people with Down syndrome, autism and or learning disabilities. For them they have set up a charity organization Perspektiva 21.3 and Dutch Bakery 21.3, an educational project and social business where students are being trained for future employment. The bakery produces bread and confectionery for sale as well as train and employ young people with mental disabilities. The Café 21.3 gives the young people the opportunity to practice and be included in society.

On February 2022 the Vasylenko family and Zeelandia Ukraine started the humanitarian project Bake4Ukraine to provide citizens of Brovary and defenders with food. After de-occupation of Kyiv region Bake4Ukraine is focused on rebuilding of bakeries affected by the war all around Ukraine and the support of newly created bakeries that ensure food security in their territorial communities. Part of this project is being supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ukraine.

We encourage everyone who is in Kyiv and around to not only enjoy a very tasty lunch, snack and coffee at the Café 21.3 but with that also support the inspiring initiatives of Andriy and Arenda Vasylenko and Zeelandia.   

Dairy farm Rozvolozhzhya

Dairy farm Rozvolozhzhya in Kyiv Oblast, with approx 2000 milking cows and 5.000 ha of land, is owned and run by Dutch farmers. During the start of the full-scale invasion there was a lot of uncertainty, broken supply chains and because of that a lack of food supply to local consumers and for the people in the area.

For owners Anoon Smits and Myke van der Avoird. it was obvious: the core task of farmers is to provide food, so it was never an option to quit. They had prepared themselves and stocked up on fuel, medication, feed and arranged housing for their staff and families. They switched from delivering milk to processing facilities located far away to selling milk directly from the farm, trading with a processor close by, and a goat farm in the area, that made cheese from their milk. In addition, flour was made from their grain so bread could be baked and they made sunflower oil from the seeds.

Now, when you visit the farm, everything seems back to normal. And in August, Rozhvolozhzhya hosted the National Farm Day organized by the Association of Dairy producers, which was supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands.

However, dairy farms in Ukraine face severe challenges because of the war, including in energy and labor shortages. During the visit, the delegation heard firsthand about these challenges. You can read more about it here Ukraine and the Netherlands in the Global Dairy Landscape. Challenges & Opportunities

Meeting with partners

During the 3-day working visit there were several meetings with Ukrainian and international partners to discuss the impact of the war, support efforts as well as looking ahead in view of Ukraine’s EU accession talks. Among others, the delegation spoke to representatives of Ukrainian agricultural associations, the EU delegation to Ukraine and International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank. During the meeting with our international partners the current efforts in assistance to Ukraine of the institutions and of the Dutch government were discussed as well as opportunities for cooperation.

Ralf van de Beek concluded the 3-day working visit by stating that the efforts and support for Ukraine remains important for food security in Ukraine and in the world. It was an inspiring visit and confronting as well when daily life and working on the future are being interchanged with air raid alerts due to russian attacks with drones and missiles. 

As agricultural team at the Embassy of the Netherlands we want to thank the delegation for visiting us and our Ukrainian and International partners. It underlines the longtime partnership with the Ukrainian agrifoodsector and ongoing and strong support of the Netherlands and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Foodsecurity and Nature during these very challenging times.