U-LEAD, together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, held an info session for representatives of municipalities from all over Ukraine. Important issues such as the state of food security in municipalities and possible ways to improve it were discussed.
“U-LEAD with Europe developed an algorithm for providing support to municipalities regarding food security. We conduct training for their officials responsible for food security issues, helped create municipal pastures and a greenhouse and launched an agricultural service. We understand all the new challenges and try to help promptly overcome the. Our joint task is to create a platform for quality and constructive communication between municipalities, state authorities and international organisations,” said Anatolii Parkhomiuk, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Volyn Oblast.
According to Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, quality communication and interaction of municipalities and state authorities plays a vital role in the current situation.
He emphasised that there were support programmes in place from the state and international partners to strengthen food security. Farmers and agriproducers can take advantage of grants to install greenhouses, create processing plants, plant gardens, etc.
“Many municipalities have established municipal agricultural enterprises. Unfortunately, they cannot take advantage of all the advantages of state support and are not included in the list of grantees. In light of all the challenges of the war, we are preparing certain changes to enable such enterprises to participate in state grant competitions,” the official said.
He noted that local self-government bodies should prepare appropriate appeals and send them to relevant ministries in order to speed up this process.
According to Serhii Sharshov, Head of the Department for the Development of Local Self-Government of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, municipalities have gained significant powers in land management and have started creating municipal agricultural enterprises. As of now, there are 300 such enterprises operating in Ukraine.
“We support the initiative to include municipal enterprises in the list of entities that can receive state aid in the field of agricultural development. We need to ensure equal rights of various entities and direct additional resources to their development,” he said.
The expert added that the municipalities have already shown their willingness to work on increasing food reserves and their ability to quickly adapt to new challenges.
“Municipalities are provided with raw materials, but not always with products from them. This problem can be solved by supporting local businesses with tax breaks, helping to find premises or providing land plots for rent. This applies to both existing and relocated businesses,” the official said.