Switzerland Supports 12 Service Providers to Strengthen the Competitiveness of Ukraine’s Dairy Sector
As part of this support, QFTP provides small grants on a competitive basis for dairy service providers to carry out their advisory and service activities. This is the sixth time that QFTP has implemented such competitions based on pre-announced topics and a selection procedure based on specific criteria. QFTP focused on supporting service providers in six thematic areas:
Switzerland has been consistently supporting the dairy sector of Ukraine within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian Programme «Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine» (QFTP). In order to strengthen the capacity of small and medium-sized milk producers and processors, considerable attention is paid to the development of a service and advisory environment and the promotion of access to knowledge and best practices. One of the important focuses of the QFTP is to strengthen the capacity of public and private sector service providers and business associations to promote good practices, value addition and trade development.
- Legal requirements and food safety — informing SMEs about safety, animal health and welfare requirements and the Raw Milk Control Programme (RMCP).
- Consumer promotion — activities to raise awareness of the benefits of regular consumption of dairy products.
- Best practices and value addition — dissemination of knowledge for safe production, trade development and value addition.
- Advisory services — support in implementing best practices for producers and processors.
- Cheese training centers — strengthening cheese production and promotion capacities.
- Restoration of the affected regions — consultancy and support to SMEs in 11 regions affected by the war.
The call for proposals, announced in autumn 2024, received 43 applications, of which 17 were supported.
The approved applications include important projects that will help improve the knowledge of small and medium-sized dairy producers, including raw milk quality control, organisation of procurement systems and arrangement of artificial insemination stations, approaches to diagnosing mastitis pathogens, disease prevention and animal welfare.
Supporting milk producers in the regions of Ukraine most affected by the war remains a priority. Projects were implemented there to provide practical advice:
- on restoring livestock productivity, quality control, and raw milk safety;
- on diagnosing mastitis pathogens to avoid antibiotic resistance, which poses a risk to food security; and
- on sustainable monitoring and correction of dairy herd health indicators.
Let’s take a closer look at the results of the projects of each service provider.
Two projects were supported by Private Enterprise “Center for Veterinary Services” (CVS), which allowed them to be implemented in Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Veterinarians from the CVS made practical visits to 26 farms with 9,262 dairy cattle in the target regions. The farms were provided with qualified consultancy services to identify the causes of mastitis in cows. During the visits, the CVS specialists conducted outreach and trained staff on the implementation of SOPs (standard operating procedures). Read more about the results of the visits here (in Ukrainian only). During the project, 130 milk samples from participating farms were collected and tested for mastitis pathogens, followed by interpretation of the research results, development and selection of effective treatment regimens for cow mastitis on the farm. Repeated visits to the farms revealed that 75% of them had reduced the incidence of mastitis and the content of somatic cells in their milk, improved treatment efficiency and increased milk for sale.
Experts from the Private Enterprise “AVM Consulting Center” also carried out practical visits to 23 dairy farms with 8053 dairy cows located in the regions affected by the hostilities or in the process of recovery (Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Kherson regions). As part of the project, the farms received consultations and practical advice in the following areas: cattle reproduction and health, milking, hygiene, management, feeding and herd management. In addition, the recipients of the services were provided with short-, medium- and long-term plans for the overall improvement of their businesses. This is especially important in the context of the significant damage caused by the war, which has led to a reduction in farm budgets and complicated many processes that affect their efficiency. Read more about the project results here (in Ukrainian only).
Uman Laboratories LLC received funding for a project to provide mastitis diagnostic kits and consultations on their use and interpretation of results (if necessary) to 35 milk production holdings in the affected areas. Based on the results of the laboratory tests, the problems were identified and the animal treatment protocols used prior to testing were revised. This project will help ensure the health of cattle, rational use of antibiotics on the farm and significantly save money on the purchase of veterinary drugs.
BIOPLACE LLC has implemented a project for sustainable monitoring and correction of dairy herd health indicators in Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipro and Kyiv regions. To implement the project, a total of 45 field visits were made by two managers to collect diagnostic material and hold consultative meetings with animal owners and farm staff to improve the epizootic and sanitary condition of farms.
The laboratory specialists worked in 56 farms and collected samples of diagnostic material (milk, blood serum, and patent material). Between October 2024 and May 2025, 207 cattle blood serum samples were analysed and 16 test reports were issued. Based on the results of the testing, protocols were issued on the deviations from the normative values for each of the biochemical indicators studied, as well as recommendations for taking measures to eliminate the identified animal health disorders.
For the first time, QFTP supported the Veterans Cheese training course aimed at social adaptation of veterans, their family members, and and internally displaced persons through mastering of the craft cheese making. The educational program was designed with a focus on developing new professional skills, supporting entrepreneurial initiatives and restoring psycho-emotional well-being. The course was successfully completed by 76 participants, of whom 20 were invited to the practical part, which included cheese making at the the Iryna Demianiuk Cheese Making School and Cheese Way. More details about this project can be found here.
In February-March 2024, the Farmers’ Competence Centre LLC implemented the project «Internal Audit of Milk Producers in Accordance with EU Standards». Three offline trainings were held on the basis of enterprises in Poltava, Volyn and Vinnytsia regions with the involvement of QFTP experts. The aim of the trainings was to help producers update their knowledge of EU requirements for milk production and prepare them for an internal audit to monitor compliance with EU standards. The trainings were attended by 74 participants from 25 dairy producers.
Ukrmilkinvest LLC has successfully implemented 4 projects:
- The training project «Organisation of the system of raw milk procurement and control from small and medium-sized producers at milk collection points», which included an online seminar and practical training at a farm in Rivne region. Participants noted the importance of information on the legal requirements for milk collection points and received a comprehensive guide on how to set up such points.
- The training project «Introduction of artificial insemination practices in a settlement through the arrangement of an artificial insemination station», which included three seminars and two demonstration trainings with participants visiting artificial insemination stations on two farms in Rivne region. The milk producers who participated in the project were informed about the legislative regulation and best practices for organising and operating artificial insemination stations for cows, as well as artificial insemination techniques.
- The training project «Raising awareness of small and medium-sized producers on animal welfare» included an online seminar and a demonstration training with a field visit to a family farm in the Volyn region. During the project, participants raised awareness of animal welfare legislation and regulations in Ukraine and were provided with self-assessment checklists for animal welfare in livestock.
- The training project «Dissemination of best practices for the production of safe and high-quality milk in vocational education institutions in Rivne and Volyn: the experience of the veterinary service of SSP UKRAINE». Its goal was to increase the level of knowledge and practical skills of students of the Mlyniv State College of Technology and Economics and the Rozhyshche Vocational College of the Lviv National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnologies named after S.Z. Gzhytskyj on modern technologies for producing safe milk and controlling its quality indicators. The project included 4 workshops and a demonstration with 153 participants.
The team of Dairy Management Systems LLC (DMS) conducted three training sessions as part of the advisory support to small farms (family-type farms) engaged in milk production in Poltava region:
- «Artificial Insemination Technology», 23.04.2025
- «Legislative requirements for sanitary standards of milk production and raw milk control programmes», 24.04.2025
- «Technology of animal husbandry, feeding and milk production», 04.2025
As a result of the trainings, participants raised awareness of the above topics, and the possibility of farm visits and offline consultations by a dairy technician increased the level of professional skills and knowledge of farmers in running their own business. The introduction of a system of regular laboratory monitoring of raw milk parameters into routine practice will allow farms to produce safer and better quality milk, influence their own profit margins, and optimise the resources involved.
The Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine held a roundtable discussion on the 2nd day of the XVI International Dairy Congress «European Integration Legislative Requirements for Dairy Farms on Animal Health and Welfare and Raw Milk Control Programme» (26 October 2024, Uman) and implemented the project «Rating of TOP-10 Dairy Farms-Leaders in terms of Milk Safety and Regularity of Participation in RMCP on the IT platform «Dairy Module».
One application was supported in the area of strengthening the export capacity of Ukrainian producers, namely from the analytical agency INFAGRO LLC. In cooperation with the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine, the 16th All-Ukrainian Conference with International Participation «Dairy Business 2024» was held. The event was attended by 39 operators of the milk and dairy products market, which manage 52 production establishments. This event is a traditional platform for networking with service providers and suppliers of related materials, traders, experts, scientists and representatives of executive authorities. For more details, please read the press release here.
This year, two public sector service providers received support from the QFTP:
- Kharkiv Regional State Laboratory of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection – support for the implementation of the RMCP through the purchase of laboratory equipment;
- The Training Center of the State Scientific Research Institute of Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary and Sanitary Expertise (hereinafter – SSRILDVSE) – support for the development and implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS).
In total, from October 2024 to June 2025, 1610 participants joined the implemented projects. In the regions most affected by the war, 144 farms received assistance.
Given the importance of an effective expert and service environment for developing the business environment and trade potential of the dairy sector, improving the quality and safety of milk and dairy products, and recovering from the effects of the ongoing war, QFTP’s support to dairy service providers will continue with a focus on relevant needs and challenges.
