Improving efficiency and saving energy at a Ukrainian farm

Improving efficiency and saving energy at a Ukrainian farm

By Mujtaba Ali

MEDA is working to increase

the income of 44,000 farmers in four areas of Ukraine.

Its Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP) is a $14.1 million US project funded by Global Affairs Canada. The project targets the development of the horticulture sector, improving the wellbeing of farmers and small and medium-sized horticulture businesses.

The UHBDP project is proving how environmental sustainability can be integrated to increase the productivity of the Ukrainian horticulture sector through education, access to reliable information, access to technology and smart incentives.

The mixture of Soviet-era and European-inspired infrastructure in Odessa and surrounding areas are mesmerizing and the people there

are extremely friendly.

A highlight of a recent visit by staff from MEDA’s Waterloo office was the trip to a table grape farm on the coast overlooking the Black Sea. The farm is in a beautiful location next to pristine water and a bustling summer tourist town.

The farm’s owner, Tetyana Smaglyuchenko, received a small grant from UHBDP. The purpose of this grant was to encourage the adoption of time and labor-saving technologies which increases efficiency and volume of crops.

She will be using the grant to purchase a chilling and storage chamber for her grapes so they don’t spoil too quickly. She has also chosen to be a leader in the community by growing her crops sustainably.

Her farm is powered by solar

panels, and the operation to water her crops requires no power but rather relies on gravity to do the work for her. She also has planted fast-growing Paulownia trees to reduce winds coming from the sea and damaging her crops.

She has added a voice box to scare away birds pecking at her crops, limiting the use of chemicals on the plants. Recently, she purchased a neighboring field and is now in the process of growing organic grapes there as well.

Ukraine is truly a spectacular country. The dedicated and friendly people invigorate MEDA staff to continue working to improve the lives of those less fortunate than us. ◆

Mujtaba Ali is an Environment & Climate Change Intern at MEDA’s Waterloo, Ontario office

MEDA staff visit a MEDA client at her table grape farm near Odessa, Ukraine, next to the Black Sea. From left to right: Mujtaba Ali, Dmytro Kravtsov, farm owner Tetyana Smaglyuchenko and Alexandra Harmash.

21 The Marketplace July August 2019