Update on Organic Trade for Development, Ukraine - Online Event & Grant Program
IFOAM - Organics International in joint collaboration with Helvetas, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and IFOAM Organics Europe is implementing the Organic Trade for Development (OT4D) program in Ukraine, Albania and Serbia. In Ukraine, we are also working closely with the Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value-Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP) implemented by FiBL in partnership with SAFOSO AG. Both programs are funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Since the invasion of Ukraine, we have been regularly in touch with our project partners and local stakeholders in the organic sector to assess their needs and support them. We are currently working on a response plan to help them mitigate the effects of recent events.
Online Event
An online event will be held on June 23 with representatives of the organic sector, foreign partners and international buyers, Ukrainian government representatives, local and international experts and business representatives. Topics include:
- Overview of the organic sector of Ukraine and capacities of Ukrainian organic exporters
- Government support programs
- Success stories of cooperation between Ukrainian organic producers and international buyers in recent months
You can learn more and register here
The “Organic Initiative” multi-stakeholder platform, our main implementing partner in Ukraine, has issued a call for donations and Grant Program which will be managed through its member “Information Center Green Dossier”.
The purpose of the Grant Program is to provide financial support to organic farmers up to a maximum amount of UAH 70,000 in the first phase. For this, producers should send a request for urgent support by May 15, 2022, at latest to the e-mail info@organicinitiative.org.ua. Further information can be found here. Details of a second phase will be announced soon.
Ukraine is a leading global supplier of agricultural products and exports a large amount of organic produce to different countries in Europe. At the moment, we are looking into how we can adjust our project activities in Ukraine to meet the current needs of the Ukrainian organic sector. This is important to ensure the people of Ukraine have access to healthy, nutritious food, grown sustainably and organic farmers do not lose their livelihoods.
We will keep working with Ukrainian organic stakeholders and partners to ensure they can continue to grow and supply food & feed, now and in the future.
As soon as we have more information, we will share an update.