After the implementation of the Ukrainian law on organic farming, the regional consumer protection authorities will be responsible for numerous new tasks. This includes the control of the organic inspection bodies, the monitoring of the correct labeling of the products in the food retail trade as well as random checks of the organically certified farms and processors. In preparation for these tasks, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy (MinEcon) and the Ukrainian Consumer Protection Authority (SSUFSCP) decided to carry out a model project and selected the responsible regional consumer protection authority in Poltava for this. The model project was inspired by the “German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture (COA)” project. The model project is being implemented jointly by the Consumer Protection Authority in Poltava and COA. The COA project is financed by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
On October 19 and 20 the 1st workshop under the pilot project was successfully held in Poltava. "The focus of this workshop was the control of the farms according to the Ukrainian law on organic farming," said Dr. Stefan Dreesmann, Leader of the COA-project. On the first day, the contents of the Ukrainian organic-law and bylaws as well as the basics for the control of the companies by the employees of COA were explained in the premises of the Consumer Protection Authority in Poltava. For this purpose, a short film in Ukrainian was shown, which presented the basic principles of control on the basis of a practical organic farm. On the 2nd day, practical control training was carried out on an organic farm around 70 km north of Poltava. An organic inspector demonstrated how an inspection works on an organic farm and what is particularly important during an organic inspection. The event was concluded by a joint session in which the individual steps of an organic control were reviewed.
Also present at the training were Johanna Scholz as the representative of the BMEL and Sabeth Bayer as the representative of the GFA Consulting Group GmbH. Both were impressed by the activities in Poltava. “The workshop was a successful start. We can build on these experiences together so that the authorities can gradually prepare for their tasks for a functioning control system in organic farming,” said Johanna Scholz at the end of the first workshop.
The experiences with the official control of the companies will be deepened in the coming months in further joint workshops in Poltava. These experiences will then be presented to the other regional Consumer Protection Authorities in Ukrainian oblasts and implemented. In the coming months, workshops will also be held as part of the model project on how the control of organic control bodies and the control of labeling in the food trade should be carried out. These workshops will be also carried out jointly by the Consumer Protection Authority in Poltava and COA.
Further information on the workshop can be found in the press release from the Consumer Protection Authority in Poltava:
Contact:
German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture (COA)
Dr. Stefan Dreesmann / Oleksandr Kaliberda
vul. Velyka Zhytomyrska 33, office 609
01601 Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(Entrance vul. Stritenska 10)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: +380 97 673 4894 / +380 050 469 2464
