A study visit to the Lviv Oblast was held with the support of U-LEAD with Europe for representatives of municipalities from the Rivne and Volyn Oblasts. Its participants were senior municipal officials, who for three days studied best practices and innovative solutions in rural development.
They shared their achievements and experience in the municipalities of Kamianka-Buzka, Mostyska and Bibrka, Lviv Oblast.
“The guests were introduced to three municipalities with different successful practices of developing rural areas,” said Halyna Khrushchak, Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Lviv Oblast.
Farms and social initiatives
The delegation spent the first day of the visit in the Kamianka-Buzka municipality. Mayor Oleh Omelian told the guests about his municipality and presented their key projects.
According to him, the support and development of rural areas is a priority for them, as it contributes to the strengthening of the local economy and helps attract new investments.
The Kamianka-Buzka municipality is committed to attracting investors to rural development. The participants saw this for themselves when visiting local livestock and agricultural production businesses.
There are many small farms that grow raspberries, strawberries, apples and other fruits. The development of the farms was incentivised by a food factory with a modern fruit freeze-dry shop. This enabled local small to sell their products for processing on a regular basis.
The participants of the visit studied the farms in Mostyska municipality as well. Mostyske Moloko LLC is a great example of a successful farm business. This livestock production company is one of the largest producers of milk in the Lviv Oblast, and their produce is sought after by well-known dairy brands. Its CEO, Oleh Hlyvka, emphasised the importance of cooperation between farms and the city council on a number of issues, including grant activities.
Myroslava Pelts, Mayor of Mostyska, introduced the guests to the practical cases implemented by the municipality by attracting the support of local businesses:
“The cornerstone of our work is project management, including submitting joint applications with local businesses. This allows us to attract additional resources for development and strengthen the investment attractiveness of the municipality.”
In 2021, the Mostyska municipality created a unique municipal company, Fruit Bank. The company cultivates seed and stone fruits, as well as other types of fruit trees, processes and cans fruits and vegetables, produces fruit and vegetable juices and ready-made foods, trades in fruits and vegetables and caters for institutions.
During the full-scale invasion, the company started to mass-produce kits of ready-made foods and offer catering services for various institutions.
The municipal company procures a lot of products from the Mostyska locals in order to strengthen the economic capacity of local small farms. The representatives of the company talked about the specifics of their operation and shared the results of their efforts.
Tourism as an element of rural development
The final day of the study visit was held in the Bibrka municipality and focused on sharing experiences and cases of development of tourist locations.
“The tourism sector is extremely important for our municipality, which is why we are committed to promoting its development as an integral part of supporting rural areas,” said Mayor Roman Hrinus.
The Bibrka municipality has considerable experience in the development of tourist locations, which the participants of the meeting could see at a number of facilities and businesses.
The participants visited Uzvar, a family restaurant. The owner of the establishment, Oresta Shnyra, shared her experience of creating a culinary brand of the Bibrka municipality. The Urbansky rolls became a household name whose fame reached far beyond the borders of the Lviv Oblast. The recipe for this dessert is among the thirty selected for Food Guide to Ukraine, an online recipe book.
“This case of the Bibrka municipality shows that the municipality, by studying its historical past, has found new opportunities and a highlight for starting new traditions and developing tourist locations,” said Yurii Holynskyi, Adviser on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government at the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Lviv Oblast.
Guests from the Volyn and Rivne Oblasts also visited the Sokil Cultural and Informational Centre. Ivan Shchurko, Project Coordinator, talked about the basis for the creation of this facility:
“The Sokil Centre was made possible thanks to cooperation with the city council and involved grant activity that enabled attracting a lot of funds for its development.”
During the visit to the Club of Plants, the founder of the Association of Entrepreneurs of the Bibrka municipality, Anton Vdovychenko, noted that business needs to develop and expand cooperation with local self-government bodies, unite and submit joint grant applications. He believes that such synergy is extremely effective in the current situation.
At the end of the day, a delegation from the Volyn and Rivne Oblasts visited the Halytska Soroka Family Farm. The farm owners grow roses, raspberries and other plants. They actively involve local residents and even implement educational projects on rural farming.
“Experience sharing visits like this one are a call to certain actions. I appreciated the development of rural areas in the municipalities of the Lviv Oblast. We were able to see successful farms that grow and help their municipalities. I liked the municipal locations that showcase the importance of supporting rural areas and cooperation with local businesses. Based on this experience, we need to focus more on this kind of cooperation, develop partnerships and attract additional funds from donors,” Svitlana Kovalchuk, Head of the Mala Liubasha municipality, Rivne Oblast, shared her impressions.