Food security events supported by U-LEAD were organised to educate municipalities about modern milk production technologies and their impact on municipal food security, as well as to clarify the legal mechanisms for creating public pastures and managing them in the municipality. This was stated by Ihor Ahibalov, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Luhansk Oblast.
At the events, municipalities learned about positive practices that were implemented as part of the project “Improving the Competence of the Residents of the Ustyluh Urban Municipality in Dairy Farming to Ensure Adequate Food Security”. The project was supported by U-LEAD.
In general, the events focused on the positive practices of the project, the municipality’s choices, residents’ feedback, expectations and results. The participants considered options for modern milk production technologies and the issues of arranging public pastures and creating a modern cattle care and milk quality assurance system at the Ustyluh City Council. They also discussed creating a legal framework for the functioning of public pastures in the municipality.
Pros of developing dairy farming. According to Ihor Ahibalov, the development of dairy farming can significantly benefit the local economy. The benefits include the creation of jobs, increased demand for local products, increased investment, reduced outflow of people from rural areas, etc.
“Dairy farming requires a lot of manual labour, from feeding and caring for the animals to milk handling and processing. This contributes to the creation of jobs in rural municipalities and cities. Moreover, the development of dairy farming leads to an increase in dairy production at the local level. This can help reduce the import of dairy products and increase the demand for local produce, as well as be an element of food security. This is especially important in wartime,” said the head of the Regional Office.
Advantages of arranging public pastures. As for public pastures, one of these was arranged as part of the implementation of the Ustyluh City Council’s Food Security Programme. According to Ihor Ahibalov, pastures like that ensure an adequate level of food security, increase the production of meat and milk in the municipality, contribute to the development of agricultural holdings and improve the economic situation in the area.
“In wartime, public pastures create additional conditions in the municipality for increasing the production of quality milk and cattle breeding in order to increase household incomes and, therefore, achieve food self-sufficiency. They also open additional prospects for further activities in this area, which will contribute to the support and development of the local economy. We are talking about the creation of cooperatives and family farms,” said Ihor Ahibalov.
Food security solutions supported by U-LEAD. Ihor Ahibalov emphasised that U-LEAD continued to support Ukraine’s municipalities in issues relevant to the local self-government in the conditions of war, including food security. Several short-term projects supported by the Programme have already proved their efficacy, such as Gardens of Victory or the establishment of the Agrarian Service. These projects helped the municipalities to form municipal food reserves.