„Germany wants to send a signal for reconstruction with its latest bilateral cooperation project in Ukraine“, with these words the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (BMEL), Claudia Müller, welcomed the members of the Project Steering Group (PSG) of the German-Ukrainian Technical Dialogue on Sustainable Development of the Fruit and Vegetable Sector (DUALOG) on August 1, 2023. The secretary of state, who joined online, emphasized the security of fresh food supplies, which has become much more important in light of Russia’s war of aggression. Markiyan Dmytrasevich, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, in his welcoming speech pointed out the destroyed agricultural infrastructure that needs to be rebuilt and added his thanks to the BMEL for the all-round support.
PSG members met on the outskirts of Vinnytsia for their first meeting to present the results of the introductory phase and discuss project planning for the next 12 months. The DUALOG project will focus on the legal and institutional framework with the operational partners in order to develop a regional concept for the promotion of the fruit and vegetable sector in the Vinnytsia oblast (region). In addition, a regional strategy for vocational education and training is to be developed, and an agricultural extension service for fruit and vegetable production is to be designed. The PSG also agreed to develop a cold storage facility as a major infrastructure project at Illintsi Agricultural College and to design financial instruments to support agricultural enterprises.
