Sumy National Agrarian University hosted the final meeting of the participants in the project ‘Training and Financial Assistance for the Development of Dairy, Aquaculture and Beekeeping in Sumy Region’. The visit of representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) was aimed at summarising the results of the grant to support communities in the region and identifying prospects for further cooperation to implement the next project to restore and support agricultural businesses in Sumy region.
As of mid-November, 1309 selected participants have already received assistance worth UAH 54.3 million in the areas of beekeeping, aquaculture, and dairy farming. The rest of the payments are still being formed. One of the key financial instruments to support the communities of Sumy region is the Ukrainian Communities Recovery Fund, which has allocated USD 4.6 million for the implementation of a pilot project that will provide significant support for agricultural development, strengthening the economic resilience of our communities, and addressing food security issues.
Oleksandr MASLAK, Director of the Department of Agricultural Development, also noted the fruitful cooperation. According to him, in addition to financial assistance, another 200 households have taken part in training and will receive payments by the end of this year. Work has begun with the Slobozhanske Hemp Farming cluster, with the amount of assistance amounting to USD 60 thousand.
The Sumy NAU team and Sumy entrepreneurs discussed the project’s progress with representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Among them: FAO cash and voucher assistance specialist Viktoriia KOKORINA, FAO beekeeping expert Anna BURKA, and FAO national expert on the fisheries programme Vasyl TUROK. In addition, the meeting was also attended by the UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias SCHMALE. The UN Resident Coordinator noted that initiatives to support Sumy region and specifically SNAU will continue to be implemented:
The international partners were also given a tour of the aquaculture laboratory at Sumy National Agrarian University and a meeting with students, during which everyone could join the discussion.
The main thing that all parties to the project assured that the cooperation was fruitful and пфму results. Now we are working to expand the areas in which we will receive comprehensive assistance from our partners.
