On October 15, 2024, Oleksandr Kaliberda, Long-term expert of the German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture (COA) took part in “Food Systems Transformation in Ukraine - Prospects for Long-Term Sustainable Development” Forum which was held at the Headquarters of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy.

The Forum was organized by the German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD) project in cooperation with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and with support from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). It served as a high-level platform for discussion of the current state of agrarian policies and food systems in Ukraine and prospects for their development and transformation. During the Forum, the Ministry of Agrarian Policies and Food presented its Strategy for Agriculture Sector Development until 2030 and highlighted current priorities for agricultural policies in the context of Ukraine’s aspiration for the membership in the European Union and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The delegation of BMEL outlined main on-going project activities in Ukraine’s agriculture and confirmed a commitment for long-term support to the development of the agricultural sector in Ukraine. Representatives of several main agriculture sector associations who attended the Forum shared their vision for Ukraine’s agriculture sector potential and main challenges to its further development.

Note: It is expected that Ukraine will complete its process of accession to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) by the end of 2024. In February 2023, Ukraine was endorsed as the 178th member state to join IFAD. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified a decision on Ukraine's accession to the Agreement Establishing the IFAD on September 4, 2024. The accession to IFAD will facilitate Ukraine’s access to new financial resources for agriculture and rural development in future.