Switzerland Will Continue to Support the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Ukraine’s Organic and Dairy Sectors
Switzerland will continue to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine’s organic and dairy sectors under the Swiss-Ukrainian program “Higher Value Added Trade in the Organic and Dairy Sector of Ukraine” ( Program, QFTP). The overall goal of the QFTP is to promote sustainable trade, increase and improve job opportunities by enhancing the competitiveness and capacity of SMEs in the organic and dairy sectors.
At the Program’s Supervisory Board meeting held on September 5, 2024, in Kyiv, the report of the first program year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) and the activity plan for the next program year until July 2025 were approved.
Taras Vysotskyi, Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, thanked Switzerland for continuing to support initiatives aimed at developing the capacity of SMEs through the creation of higher value-added products, such as the production and export of organic and dairy products.
“At this critical time, it is essential to create new opportunities for the development of organic and dairy producers on their path to enhancing their trade potential in the domestic and international markets for higher value-added products. Thanks to numerous regional events held within the Program, we can maintain direct contact with the recipients of Swiss assistance — representatives of the private and public sectors. It is crucial to continue promoting the Ukrainian export brand of food products on the global stage. Together, we continue to work towards Ukraine’s victory,” he said.
Marco Kräuchi, Program Manager, coordinator of the organic division, Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, noted: “SECO has been supporting the organic and dairy sectors for many years through the QFTP program. Recognizing the challenges Ukraine is facing during the war,SECO is ready to strengthen this activity and expand the support in response to the requests of our partners in the sectors”.
Oleg Osiyan, First Deputy Head of the the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP), thanked the QFTP team for the fruitful cooperation throughout the implementation of the Program.
“With Swiss-Ukrainian program “Higher Value Added Trade in the Organic and Dairy Sector of Ukraine” SSUFSCP began cooperation over 5 years ago. During this time, the Raw Milk Control Program has been successfully established. Today, 1,836 enterprises are connected to the Dairy Module — a great shared achievement. Additionally, SSUFSCP and QFTP are working on the development and implementation of organic products in the Ukrainian market. In a short time, all by-laws have been established, registries of certification bodies are functioning, and the national organic logo can already be seen on store shelves. There is still a lot of work ahead, but it is already clear that with the project, we will easily and successfully achieve effective results in any area,” he added.
Oleksiy Grushetskyi, Deputy Director of Export Promotion of the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” added: “Cooperation with the QFTP program in promoting exports and developing the organic and dairy sectors is key to sustainable economic growth. Together, we create new opportunities for our producers, open new markets, and improve the quality of Ukrainian products that meet international standards.”
QFTP Phase II is financed by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO). The Program is implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland).
