On January 25, 2022, the Regional Aquaculture Development Dialogue was held at the initiative of Dnipropetrovsk Investment Agency (DIA) and USAID Agricultural and Rural Development Program (AGRO).
The event, which was held in a mixed format, was joined by representatives of the Department for Ecology and Energy Saving of Dnipropetrovsk regional council, territorial communities of Dnipropetrovsk region, the business community and universities of Ukraine. There were almost 40 participants in total.
At the beginning of the meeting, the participants were presented with the current state of aquaculture in Ukraine, because it is the fastest growing branch of the agro-industrial complex, and one of the most important elements of the global food system. Mykola Fedorenko, First Deputy Director of Methodological and Technological Center for Aquaculture, focused on the strengths and weaknesses of this industry, detailed the types of aquaculture and its cultivation methods, growth prospects and implementation risks.
Volodymyr Gurman shared his experience of PJSC Company «Bastion» with an emphasis on the prospects for partnership, the possibility of processing aquaculture and manufacturing their own finished products. Considering the industrial load of the region and a fairly significant number of enterprises that use recycled water for cooling, it opens up the possibility of creating aquaculture production, which would not have seasonal dependence. For example, the «Bastion» Company redirects water that was used to cool refrigeration systems to heat reservoirs where aquaculture is grown.
«In terms of economic opportunities and prospects, aquaculture is a fairly promising area of business development. There are now more than 2,000 water bodies in the Dnipropetrovsk region that are potentially interesting for investors. The task of today’s forum is to establish cooperation between all parts of the aquaculture business. This will allow producers to get sustainable development opportunities, scientists – clients for expert advice, processors – to find the best product, communities – to create and develop local businesses», – Valentyna Zatyshniak, DIA’s director, said.
Alim Molodan, DIA’s Deputy Director, presented investment proposals from communities that contribute to the development of aquaculture in the region. In turn, the communities shared their already existing experience in implementing similar projects. Thus, the Sofiyivska TC presented a multilateral project of creation an “Educational and tourist center based on aquaculture”, which will contribute to the development of the community tourist and scientific potential.
Participants discussed issues requiring attention and improvement. This is the de-shadowing of the sector, the unification of manufacturers in associations, the development of effective financial mechanisms to support business and strategic programs for development and insurance and marketing activities.
Serhii Berezan, Deputy Head of the Department for Ecology and Energy Saving, noted: “Our task is to make the regional water areas investment-attractive. And the regional council has already begun to do this. We made an inventory of more than 400 objects in six districts of the Dnepropetrovsk region and created an interactive map. It contains technical documentation about the facilities, information about the logistics and engineering infrastructure, maps of the area, target offers for business, etc. This smart tool is essential for entrepreneurs to collaborate with the community to create recreational facilities, tourist areas, recreational fish farms or other
Irina Volovik, Associate Professor of the Department of Management, Public Administration and Administration of Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University, spoke about the mechanism, advantages and challenges of creating cooperatives in the aquaculture sector.
A lively discussion among participants and experts underlined the relevance of the issues raised and the experience presented. You can watch the recording of the video conference on Youtube here.
