Visit of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Netherlands to Ukraine
From 11-13 July 2018 a delegation of the Dutch ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, headed by deputy Director general Aldrik Gierveld, visited Ukraine. Official part was the bilateral working group with the Ukrainian ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, headed by deputy minister Olga Trofimtseva, to discuss bilateral cooperation. It was followed by company visits to dairy farm Rozvolozhzhia, flower greenhouse & park Camellia and producer of bakery products Zeelandia & Dutch Bakery 21.03.
Enhancing cooperation in the agricultural sector
On 12th of July the official part of the visit of the delegation took place; the 4th bilateral working group between the two ministries of Agriculture. The Netherlands and Ukraine are important partners, in trade the Netherlands is for example the third importer of agricultural products of Ukraine. To underline our cooperation Aldrik Gierveld and Olga Trofimtseva signed a joint statement in which they confirmed their intention to continue joint projects in the potato, dairy, biomass and food processing sectors. Also they agreed to develop cooperation in the ornamental, horticultural and organic sector.
These sectors are priority sectors for the Netherlands in Ukraine where Dutch innovations, technologies and experience can contribute with practical bilateral projects to the sustainable development of the agricultural sector in Ukraine.
Other topics on the agenda included sharing experience in reforms of the ministry, the investment climate and the progress of harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with EU standards as agreed in the Association Agreement, specifically in the veterinarian and phytosanitarian field. The ministries agreed to continue their cooperation in this area as well, in coordination with the delegation of the European Union in Ukraine.
We would like to thank deputy minister Olga Trofimtseva for the constructive meeting and are looking forward to further develop our cooperation in the mentioned areas.
Company visit: dairy farm Rozvolozhzhia
10 years ago, Dutch farmer Antoon Smits and Myke van der Avoird arrived in Ukraine to start the dairy farm Rozvolozhzhia in Kyiv region. Now, the dairy farm is certified to deliver the highest quality milk for children and also acts as a demo farm for the Dutch Ukrainian Dairy Centre (DUDC). Practical seminars are being held on the farm and last year also the Dutch Dairy Day about efficienct farm management took place at Rozvolozhzhia.
The Dutch delegation got a tour around the farm, including to the new high tech barn, by Myke van der Avoird. Also Rene Kremers, projectleader of DUDC joined to explain about both the practical side of the project and the institutional developments.
Company visit: Camellia greenhouse
Camellia is one of the largest flower importer and producer in Ukraine. The company has almost 25 years of experience in cooperation with the Netherlands and this year they launched the Camellia park where all their assortment of flowers and plants can be seen. In the greenhouse the delegation got to see the Christmas Glory which is being grown so it can be in our homes during the Christmas holidays. The delegation discussed the specifics of the ornamental sector, including the recently started study in this sector.
Because of the growing interest of the Dutch business in Ukraine and to support the Ukrainian flower business to adopt the international standards and business models the Embassy initiated the PSD project "Research of the Ukrainian ornamental sector" where the market situation as well as the key players from the following sub-sectors will be presented. Read more here
Company visit: Zeelandia Ukraine
An inspiring story from Andriy Vasylenko (Zeelandia Ukraine) marked the final visit of the Dutch delegation. Started in 2003, the producer in bakery products managed to combine succesful business with making a difference with Dutch Bakery 21.03. The bakery is a training facility for children with Down Syndrome which was offially opened on 21st of March this year.
Andriy Vasylenko shared his experience on building up the company during the different difficult periods of doing business in Ukraine. Together with the real 'angels' in the company, those who develop the new bakery products for the market, he managed to expand Zeelandia Ukraine and invest in corporate social responsibility at the same time.
Dutch Bakery 21.03 is located in Brovary but deliver in all of Kyiv. A tasty end of the visit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands to Ukraine.
We would like to thank deputy Director general Aldrik Gierveld and policy officer Pieter Vaandrager for their visit. We would also like to thank the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine for their support and constructive meeting. We are looking forward to the bilateral working group in the Netherlands next year.
Our main gratitude is towards the companies who opened their doors for the delegation and shared their experience about the developments in the agricultural sector and their personal stories on doing business in Ukraine. Thank you all!