Agro-focus

In spring 2016 Agro-Focus company joined the program for small and medium farmers by UHBDP project and received financial aid for the development of its "agricultural laboratory", which is informal organization of small private farmers of Kakhovka region.

In next five years our partner Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP) with a financial aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada (Global Affairs Canada) and support of implementing Association MEDA will operate in the Southern regions of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolayiv and Odesa. The project seeks to benefit 44,000 small and medium horticulture farmers and small enterprises. Matching grant requires a manufacturer to create a professional business-plan, to measure indicators of risks and forecasts and to prepare step-by- step instructions for a successful business development.

Most important thing is that matching grant implies 1:1 ratio of money involved in the enterprise, which means that the company gets back every hryvnia spent according to the business plan presented. UHBDP not only completely shares the risks associated with the company development with “Agro-Focus”, but also helps to understand what might “go wrong”during the business plan execution.

Agro-Focus LLC as a company that united small scale producers to work with new for Ukraine crops received financial aid from UHBDP for so called “fixed assets”, which was one of the basic grant conditions.

The funds were primarily used to purchase necessary farming and packaging equipment as well as a rapid cooling refrigerator for vegatables, which will contribute to a technologically advanced and efficient farming. Grant made it possible to expand the cultivation of white and green asparagus, and small scale Kakhovka farmers to become informal company partners and to grab attention of other farmers to this new “niche” kind of crop in Ukraine.

Agro-Focus company is very grateful to the Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project not only for financial support, but also for useful and interesting seminars, expert advice and the possibility of two-way communication which is aimed at sustainable and constructive cooperation.

Due to the mutual UHBDP grant, asparagus and other Agro-Focus “niche” products will become more affordable for Ukrainian consumers as mechanization of the production process will reduce the costs and increase the harvest. Very soon every Ukrainian will have a possibility to taste asparagus from Lyubymivka!

Successful experience of whether formal or informal organisation of small scale agricultural producers allows to reach export markets and obtain high quality fresh fruits and vegetables, which is the main goal of the program that is currently active in southern Ukraine.