From 4 to 7 June 2019, in Kiev, on the territory of the National Complex “Expocenter of Ukraine” (1 Academician Glushkov Avenue), the 31st International Agricultural Exhibition “AGRO-2019” was held.
AGRO-2019 is the key and most ambitious agro-industrial exhibition in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, a productive platform for improving production efficiency, the introduction of new technologies and the development of all areas of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine. The exhibition brought together more than 1,200 participants from 15 countries of the world on an area of 3.5 hectares, about 89 thousand visitors became agronomists, procurement specialists, owners and top managers of agricultural enterprises, farmers and all interested guests. For the first time, the Agro-2019 included thematic pavilions of manufacturers from the United States, Canada and China.
The event was traditionally organized by TD TD Promfininvest, the general sponsor was TOTAL Ukraine, a world-renowned manufacturer of lubricants, one of the four largest oil and gas companies in the world, the only large research company in the world engaged exclusively in agriculture and provides producers with the most balanced product portfolio: high-quality seeds, innovative plant protection products, services and digital solutions - Corteva Agriscience ™. The television partner was First Business Channel, the printing partner was PRIME PRINT, the main Internet partner was Agronews.ua portal, and the participants and guests of the event were hosted by Favor Park.
The official opening of the exhibition took place on June 4 at 12.00 with the participation of the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiva and the Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Olga Trofimtsova.
Stepan Kubov noted the significant contribution of the agro-industrial complex to the development of the economy of Ukraine and assured further support for agricultural producers from the state. “Since 2017, the government, initiated by the Ministry of Economic Development, has launched a unique state support program for manufacturers of agricultural equipment. The development program involved 163 domestic enterprises of agricultural machinery, and the nomenclature of titles covers 11.4 thousand units of agricultural machinery. This program allows you to receive a partial compensation of the cost of their products, therefore, to make its final cost more attractive for Ukrainian farmers, ”noted Kubov.
Olga Trofimtsova added that the Ministry seeks to create comfortable conditions for farmers that they work not only on the domestic market, but also leave their products to foreign markets. She said that today more than 50 thousand operators are involved in the agricultural sector, including more than 40 thousand farmers, with 80% of them being small and medium-sized farmers. Now the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Industry is actively working to create equal working conditions for both small farms and large holdings. “It is important that even a small farmer of 100-200 hectares feels like a full-fledged player in world markets. A farmer in Ukraine should be able to unite into cooperatives, create or be a member of regional clusters, redo their products and export them abroad, ”Trofimtseva said.
The exhibition "AGRO-2019" is a mirror of the development of the industry in Ukraine, the exhibition platforms highlighted all the numerous branches of agriculture, and demonstrate the vector of development of the domestic agro-industrial complex. 12 specialized exhibitions united the current "AGRO".
The basis of the business program of the exhibition was the conference "Agro 4.0", which is part of the "Ukrainian export week-2019". The event was held in the format of discussion panels, seminars and trainings, the focus of which was on the economic, social, environmental and innovation components. Much attention was devoted to forms of state support for small and medium-sized agricultural producers, gardeners and berries. On the forum were acting and. Olga Trofimtseva, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Acting Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Issues Alexander Baumenko, leaders of public organizations of the agro-industrial complex. The forum participants noted the need to demonopolize the market of mineral fertilizers and to ensure the possibility of import of mineral fertilizers to Ukraine at world prices.
One of the global trends and practices will help solve the problem of soil conservation, economical use of fertilizers, crop protection products, seeds and other resources, the use of precision farming. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Vladimir Topchy, during the panel discussion "The development of precision farming systems is our future."
The energy potential of biomass was discussed at the workshop “Towards a closed cycle bioeconomy in horticulture and winemaking: the role of trimming and wood removal as a biomass resource. The results of the EU project Horizon 2020 up_running "Sustainable use of woody biomass from pruning and uprooting of perennial agricultural plantings." Ukraine ranks second in the world in terms of the area where crop residues are burned. This adversely affects the state of the soil and air. Meanwhile, agrobiomasa - straw, corn stalks, sunflower seed by-products - can become a source of alternative energy, partially replacing natural gas.
June 10, 2019 introduces a new standard for wheat grain DSTU 3768: 2019 “Wheat. Technical conditions. The round table “Updated requirements for wheat grain” was devoted to this topical issue. The new document provides four classes, a somewhat simplified system and new indicators. “We tried to balance and find a compromise between the need to distribute grain into classes when storing wheat within the country and the need to form export lots,” said Elena Kovaleva, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
It was at AGRO-2019 that the roadmap for the development of berry growing in Ukraine was presented. This is an action plan for the next five years, which will allow the industry to develop more dynamically, and for domestic berries to enter foreign markets. Irina Kukhtina, Chairman of the Berry Association of Ukraine, noted that the market for berries in Ukraine is 140 thousand tons. "We are going in the right direction, increasing productivity. For the last three years, Ukrainian berries producers have declared themselves on the world map. But we haven’t they occupied. Poland, Spain and Morocco are our main competitors, ”Kukhtina explained.
Ukraine occupies the 20th place in the world and the 11th place in Europe in terms of the area of land occupied by organic production. Growth rates are 5-6 times higher than world and European ones. Prospects for the development of the organic sector were discussed on the communication platform "APK 4: 0 Organic export benchmarks." Ukrainian organic producers should focus on the domestic market, develop innovations, process in the country, work with the consumer, increase the assortment of ready-to-eat organic products so that foreign consumers, importers or processors can see that, apart from developing organic exports, Ukraine is self-sufficient and develops own market After all, the development of the domestic market for foreign buyers is an important indicator, ”said Maria Makhnovets, an expert on the organic market, the chairperson of the Ukrainian Organic Cluster NGO. An important point for the development of the domestic market is the adoption in July 2018 of a new law 2496-VIII to regulate the organic market in Ukraine.
“More than an agricultural exhibition” is such a hashtag of the current AGRO-19, because apart from the exhibition and business programs, there were many interesting events for four days in the capital Expocentre.
For the umpteenth time, AGRO-2019 demonstrated a high standard of organization of large-scale agrarian events and became a professional platform that united agrarians from all over Ukraine and the world. Therefore, we are looking forward to seeing you next year!