The Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Zaporizhzhia oblast held an info session “Powers of Local Self-Government in the Area of Food Security; Food Security Programme for the Municipalities of the Zaporizhia and Odesa Oblasts” to discuss the best practices of the municipalities of the Dnipropetrovsk oblast.
In times of the full-scale war, the issue of food supplies is very acute. Earlier we reported a similar informational event held by U-LEAD for the municipalities of the Volyn, Ternopil, Rivne, Lviv, Zakarpattia and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.
“Food security of the municipality is a strategic direction of any local council. The baseline that the local council should meet is to approve a high-quality Food Security Programme for the next few years. Local self-government has enough tools for this, but these tools are not adapted to today’s challenges,” U-LEAD experts said.
Development of the Programme begins with assessing the actual situation and identifying existing problems and possible solutions. This should involve both local residents and IDPs. Everyone should understand that the Programme is a household survival strategy.
“This document provides an understanding of the actual state of food security in the municipality to plan financial expenses more effectively, taking into account any existing and future needs. And in the case of applying for external aid (international grants, projects, humanitarian and charitable aid), municipality representatives will always have a clear list of real needs,” U-LEAD experts emhasised.
Olena Tertyshna, Head of U-LEAD in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, spoke about the best practices of stockpiling and providing the population with food.
According to her, in the Magdalinivka municipality in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, the local food security programme has been a catalyst for qualitative change. Its development and implementation united people. They are banding together, considering cooperatives and looking for ideas. The municipality registered land plots and engaged 15 hectares of municipal and private property in the villages of Magdalinivka, Pochyno-Sofiivka, Shevchenkivka, Ocheretuvate, Oleksandrivka.
The harvest was used to create a food reserve, allowing to provide food to health care institutions and the in-patient ward of the social services centre, to internally displaced persons and to the army.
Olena Tertyshna also spoke about the experience of the Pereshchepinsk, Mezhova and Pokrovske municipalities in the development and implementation of local targeted programmes. According to her, their experience can be used as a step-by-step guide for other local self-government bodies.
At the end of the discussion, the main directions for municipalities were highlighted. Firstly, the development and implementation of a local food self-sufficiency programme by the local self-government is an effective tool for ensuring food security. Secondly, the local self-government’s support for the building, restoration and expansion of businesses engaged in the cultivation, processing and production of agricultural products creates the foundation of food security in the municipality, region and the country as a whole.