Nicolas Lefebvre and Toralf Richter travelled around 1600 kilometres from Lviv to Poltava in one week. The experts from the Department of International Cooperation of FiBL Switzerland visited a dozen producers, processors, collection centres and exporters in order to gain a better understanding of the situation in the organic sector and in the QFTP project (see "Further information"). We asked Nicolas Lefebvre about his impressions of the trip after his return.
What are the biggest difficulties faced by Ukrainian producers?
Nicolas Lefebvre: The lack of labour was mentioned by all our partners as the number one problem. Indeed, there is a 10 to 30 per cent shortage of labour in the companies, regardless of their size. The men sent to the front have been partially replaced by women and pensioners, but this is not enough. The second major problem is the energy supply, which is disrupting the daily lives of farmers, even though all farmers have purchased generators to bridge the frequent power outages, which usually last between 4 and 6 hours. Furthermore, energy prices have more than doubled, which naturally has an impact on their income.
Aren't mined areas and the availability of building materials, machinery and inputs obstacles to production?
Surprisingly not, at least not in the regions we visited, although production costs have skyrocketed due to the devaluation of the Ukrainian currency. However, our contacts, without exception, complained about Poland's excessive protectionism towards them and the fact that they are being hindered in their trade opportunities. It is not uncommon for Ukrainian lorries transporting raw materials to Europe to be stuck at the Polish border for up to two weeks. The lack of regional solidarity weighs on the morale and daily lives of Ukrainian farmers.
How is the organic sector doing in Ukraine?
Admittedly, organic is no longer an issue at all for Ukrainian consumers in the domestic market. This is a major concern for certified producers, who are struggling to defend their market share. Furthermore, for some goods, there is hardly any price difference between organic and conventional. So the survival of Ukraine's organic sector is clearly at stake.
Furthermore, since the beginning of the war, almost three years ago, established importers have had concerns about the reliability, and in particular the quantity, of deliveries from Ukraine. And this has clearly had an adverse effect on the organic sector, at all levels.
Nevertheless, the incredible resilience of the certified producers must be emphasised. Even though costs have exploded and even though it no longer really makes economic sense to produce organically, they are holding out and holding on to their label out of conviction and loyalty to their values.
As FiBL stakeholders who have been supporting the Ukrainian organic sector for around 20 years, what are the priorities for you?
In addition to the efforts that need to be made to sustain the domestic market, we believe that agronomic support is currently required. Ukrainian organic farmers, who suffer from a lack of personnel, need technical support to introduce less labour-intensive production methods while increasing their productivity.
Interview: Claire Berbain
Further information
Contacts
Links
- qftp.org: QFTP website
- fibl.org: QFTP in the FiBL project database
The QFTP project
The objectives of the QFTP project (Quality Food Trade Programme in Ukraine) are to promote sustainable trade and create more and better jobs in the organic and dairy sectors in Ukraine. These objectives are to be achieved by strengthening the entrepreneurial competitiveness and capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project is managed by FiBL and other partners include Safoso AG, the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), IFOAM Organics International and the Bioinstitut Czech Republic.