A successful specialist information tour by the “German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD) in cooperation with the “German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture (COA)” together with a Ukrainian delegation of experts took place in Brussels last week.

The Ukrainian expert delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada Agricultural Committee, representatives of various professional associations of Ukrainian agriculture, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ukrainian and German scientists.

As part of many specialist lectures over three days in Brussels, the group informed many representatives of the European Commission, other European institutions, representatives of European agricultural associations and representatives of German federal states and the German federal government, in particular about the current situation in Ukrainian agriculture. The extensive information was followed by intensive discussions with everyone present. Conversely, the representatives of the EU institutions and organizations informed the Ukrainian delegation about their working methods and current issues.

A focus was also on providing information about the situation of organic farming in Ukraine. Dr. Stefan Dreesmann from the COA project provided information with presentations about the enormous activities of the organic sector in Ukraine, the structure and number of organic companies, the successful export of these products despite the ongoing full-scale war by Russia and the successful implementation of Ukraine's own law on organic farming last year.

With the information tour, the representatives of the various institutions and organizations in Brussels were able to receive important current information about agriculture in Ukraine and also about the very active organic agriculture in Ukraine in direct exchange. In addition, the representatives of Ukraine could gain an intensive impression of the work and approach of the EU institutions and organizations in Brussels.