Speeches Shim
ARDS co-investment assistance expands Ukraine’s agri-market reach and breaks Soviet-era economic tethers
Dark clouds can have silver linings. This is certainly true in today’s Ukraine. With the end of its heavy reliance on Russia as its largest agricultural market, new business opportunities are opening up in Europe and Asia. Forced to seek alternative markets, Ukraine’s farmers and agri-businesses, many of whom refuse to sell to Russia, undertook the process of improving product quality and obtaining certifications required by Europe and Asia.
Once a prosperous top manager in a local construction company, Kostiantyn* now owns and manages a thriving honey business. Kostiantyn’s journey into the apiary world began when Ukraine lost control over parts of Luhansk Oblast, and Kostiantyn and his sister fled their homes with their families to a small house in Spivakivka village, in the Ukraine-controlled part of the oblast.
“It was an old house that we had used for summer vacations,” explained Kostiantyn. The two families settled in the village, refurbished the house, and adapted to rural life.
For five years, Iryna Paruna and her family have nurtured a business that manufactures and sells bedding. They produce their products in the eastern Ukrainian village of Bobrove, eight kilometers from the front line. From there, her finished goods are sent to towns and villages throughout Ukraine.
Iryna started her business in 2014, when she and her family moved to Bobrove from Severodonetsk, acquired some basic sewing equipment, and began to sew bathrobes, dresses, and linen in one of the rooms of her apartment.
Teachers use USAID anti-corruption toolkit to teach civic responsibility to students
Alla Ryabukha and Lyudmyla Khorkova are seasoned education professionals with many years in teaching and administrative positions.
Ms. Ryabukha is the head of the State Education Quality Service in Sumy Oblast with experience as a school director and an economics teacher. Ms. Khorkova is a school director and a history teacher. Both have encountered academic dishonesty and corruption.
Halyna Movchan and her husband, who live in the tiny village of Ivcha in Vinnytsia Oblast, are raising three grandchildren – two in grade school and one who recently graduated – on combined monthly pensions of approximately $125. Always looking for additional income, Halyna never seriously considered growing horseradish, as the effort was not worth the pennies paid per kilo.
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