Switzerland supports development of the organic and dairy sectors in Ukraine
The new Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” is launched. The overall goal is to create business opportunities in both sectors, in particular, contribute to increased employment and income generation, especially in rural areas.
During the first Steering Committee meeting of the new Program, Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine (MDETAU), noted: “The dairy sector is one of the priority sectors for the Ministry in terms of food safety and safe food availability. Inna Mietielieva, Deputy Minister, is in charge of organic production development. We will facilitate development of the organic and dairy sectors. We need a breakthrough in these sectors, namely, support in law-making, training and communication as well as digitalization which will allow the Ministry to implement the changes quicker”.
Olga Shevchenko, Acting Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP) noted: “The Program’s support is extremely important, and I want to highlight that this cooperation will stimulate development of both sectors. I am convinced that the Program will be implemented successfully and we will see dynamic development in future which will become exemplary for other sectors”.
Viktor Shutkevych, Assistant Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, in his turn, highlighted the Program importance and the long-term Swiss-Ukrainian cooperation: “Continuing the long-term fruitful cooperation the Swiss government is now providing technical assistance primarily to our main partners – the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection. It is significant that the Program is actively involved in achieving strategic goals of the Ukrainian government”.
It is expected that as a result of the Program implementation private SMEs (producers, processors, service providers) but also relevant public entities in organic and dairy sectors will contribute to sustainable trade and job creation in the organic and dairy sectors.
The Program’s objectives are:
- Improved food quality and safety in the organic and dairy sectors,
- Increased trade capacity on the domestic and export markets with higher value added products relating to the organic and dairy sectors.
The Program provides for support to multi-stakeholder policy dialogue with a purpose of improving the legislative framework and business environment which will contribute to improved food quality and safety in both sectors.
The global organic market is valued at 90 billion US dollars which offers opportunities for export of Ukrainian organic products. In the framework of the Program, establishment of the Organic Multi-Stakeholder Platform will be supported aiming to boost organic higher value added trade on the domestic and international markets.
In the dairy sector the Program will work to improve trust in domestic dairy products through support of the consumer awareness campaign. For this purpose, together with the Program beneficiaries, implementation of the raw milk control program is planned which will be equivalent to the EU approaches to ensure transparency and traceability at the stage of milk production and its placing on the market. The data on raw milk quality and safety should become an important source of information for a risk-based inspection. The MDETAU and SSUFSCP will receive technical assistance in capacity development in risk assessment and use of risk-based concepts in their operational environment.
In the dairy sector added value will be achieved primarily through compliance with higher milk quality and safety standards. The important aspect in trade capacity development will be market access for small (craft) producers. In addition, the Program, together with public and private partner organizations, will develop services of available knowledge and technical information for a wider public.
