Fourteen employees of the Ukrainian consumer protection authority carried out organic inspections completely independently for the first time – supported by the German-Ukrainian Organic Farming Cooperation project.

Volyn/Ukraine – An important milestone for organic farming in Ukraine: in the summer, 14 employees of the Ukrainian Consumer Protection Agency completed in the Volyn Oblast in western Ukraine a week-long practical training course on organic farming inspections.

The fourth in a series of practical training courses for employees of the Ukrainian Consumer Protection Agency was once again conducted by experts from the German-Ukrainian Cooperation on Organic Farming. The focus was on practical simulations of inspections at the organic farms ‘Shans-Vik’ and ‘Berries of Volyn’.

The result: for the first time, the participants carried out inspections independently – with convincing results.

Kateryna Korovitska from the Consumer Protection Agency in Volyn was impressed:
‘The two organic farms made a very positive impression on us. They are examples of the growing importance of organic farming.’

Yuri Kholod from the Consumer Protection Agency in Ternopil concluded by emphasising the long-term benefits:
‘This project has laid the foundation for us to carry out inspections confidently and professionally in the future. Our thanks go to everyone involved.’

With the fourth training course of this kind, the project underscores the progress made in establishing a strong regulatory control structure for organic farming in Ukraine.