USAID ERA supports Ukraine’s only beekeeping school to bolster apiculture

20 May 2024

The USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA) has been helping the Hadiach Agricultural School train future beekeepers in modern methods of beekeeping since 2019. 

Over the last year, USAID ERA provided the school with new laboratories, a training apiary, and a modern honey processing station, as well as equipment, including 12 laptops with software, a laptop charging cabinet, 15 microscopes, two thermostats, two incubators for queen bee rearing, two water baths, and one set of artificial insemination equipment for queen bees. 

 

This support will allow students and teachers to conduct research, study and prevent the spread of disease, while contributing to the preservation of Ukrainian bee breeds, such as the Carpathian, Ukrainian steppe, and Polissian.  

“War affects bees. Beekeepers go to defend the country, many apiaries are left unattended, and bees go into swarming mode. Bees have trouble foraging and perish in or near areas of conflict. With forests in eastern Ukraine destroyed, bees seek refuge in other regions, and it is not always possible to save and transport them elsewhere,” explained Natalia Senchuk, Director of the Hadiach Agricultural School.

“With the new equipment we received from USAID ERA, we will be able to monitor and research diseases, study bee colonies, and work on the quality of honey…Our graduating students will create their own apiaries, launch their own entrepreneurial activities in beekeeping, become professional beekeepers, and share this knowledge with their colleagues, which will also positively impact the development of beekeeping.”

In addition to equipment, USAID ERA purchased 100 wooden hives, a beekeeper’s cabin, a honey extraction equipment, and more materials for the school. All this equipment will be used in the training apiary and honey processing workshop.

The Hadyach Agricultural School is Ukraine’s only educational institution focused on beekeeping, with 198 students enrolled.

Agricultural companies’ mechanics are learning to maintain industrial generators

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
17 May 2024

13 mechanical engineers and electricians from 4 Ukrainian agricultural companies—partners of USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA)—took a maintenance training course on industrial generators with a 2000 kW capacity. The training took place in April at Ostroh Higher Vocational School in the generator repair and maintenance laboratory. The training was organized by the International Foundation of Development with the support of USAID ERA.

The training included an online course accompanied by a practical generator testing section in the laboratories. This knowledge will help professionals properly maintain generators during power outages caused by Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

“At Baryshivka Grain Company, we have five generators that require maintenance and proper operation to ensure uninterrupted production processes at the elevator. The training helps us in maintain these units. Also, it would be interesting to attend lectures on grain dryers and transportation equipment at the elevator,” said Konstiantyn Kovalenko, an Engineer at LLC Baryshivka Grain Company.

Recently, USAID ERA purchased 10 high-capacity diesel generators for 6 agricultural companies in Ukraine. This will help to maintain all company operations, including grain transshipment, storage, and loading into wagons or trailers, even during blackouts.

USAID ERA provides nine inkjet printers to rail border crossing point in Zakarpattia Oblast  

Modernization of the BCPs
17 May 2024

On May 6, the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) delivered nine inkjet printers to a rail border crossing point (BCP) in Zakarpattia Oblast that will contribute to the day-to-day operations of Ukrainian Railways (UZ).  

Earlier this year, USAID ERA also supplied 103 pieces of computer equipment to this BCP and three other priority railway BCPs in the Volyn, Lviv, and Chernivtsi Oblasts. This equipment, including printers, system units, monoblocks, laptops, and uninterruptible power supplies, will streamline workflows, expedite cargo clearance, and increase both border capacity and passenger traffic. ERA also installed four 50-kW diesel generators at these BCPs to ensure uninterrupted daily operations during power outages and accelerate the processing of shipping documents, especially during grain shipments.  

Additionally, three sets of bogie exchange lifts (a total of 12 units) were installed at a rail border crossing in Chernivtsi Oblast, with plans to install another 20 bogie lifts by the end of May at the Ukraine-Poland border in the Lviv region. These wagon lifts are an effective way to replace bogies with wide gauge wheelsets (1535 mm) with European gauge wheelsets (1420 mm) and vice versa, which contributes to the accuracy of technological processes related to the rearrangement of wagons and, accordingly, to the efficiency of cargo transportation by rail between Ukraine and the European Union. 

USAID ERA is committed to improving the efficiency of Ukraine’s rail border crossings to accelerate the processing of shipping documents, particularly for grain exports, bolstering the country’s economic resilience.  

Background: Between 2023-2026, USAID, through the Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), is dedicating $115 million to support the supports the Government of Ukraine, including the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine (Ministry for Restoration), the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Agency for Restoration), the State Customs Service, and Ukrainian Railways (UZ), to upgrade 42 of Ukraine’s border crossing points (BCPs). 

The VARTO project made it to the shortlist of the international IAB MIXX Awards 2024 IAB Ukraine

17 May 2024

Last year, with the support of USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA), ShoTam created the VARTO project to motivate veterans and their families to start their own businesses. This year, the VARTO project made it to the shortlist of the international IAB MIXX Awards 2024 IAB Ukraine competition for the category “Best Use of Partner Content”.

The media campaign aimed to support veterans and their families while boosting the Ukrainian economy. The Ukrainian Veterans’ Fund, USAID ERA and partners shared around 50 stories about veteran owned businesses. Videos stats include:

  • – 10,000,000+ views
  • – 16,000,000+ reach
  • – 100+ publications in regional media
  • – 20 regional TV channels broadcast the ShoTam videos live
  • – 5 months of video broadcasting on Intercity screens

Together we strengthen the Ukrainian economy!

AR Boryspil hosts visitors while increasing agricultural exports during the war

AGRI-Ukraine Export Logistics Support
16 May 2024

AR BORYSPIL HOSTS VISITORS WHILE INCREASING AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS DURING THE WAR 

On May 14, agricultural exporter AR Boryspil in Kyiv Oblast hosted a tour of their facilities for Mark T. McCord, Senior Director of DAI’s Eastern Europe Regional Portfolio, Daniel Schmidt, DAI’s Deputy Chief Ethics & Integrity Officer, and staff at USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA). The visitors had the opportunity to see USAID funded equipment and learn how the company continues to export grain during the war. 

AR Boryspil has a full cycle of equipment for receiving, storing, drying, and shipping grain crops. On the tour, the visitors started by seeing how the grain from trucks come into the facility and are analyzed. Analysis is mandatory and shows the quality of grain, its moisture content, waste and grain impurities, and the GMO content. Anastasia Tytarenko, Director of Grain Quality Control, analyzed the incoming corn from the truck in the laboratory which takes up to 20 minutes. The laboratory also forms composite samples for the further transfer to the independent GAFTA laboratory, which determines if heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, toxic elements, radionuclides, etc. are present. All these results allow AR Boryspil to ensure that the grain can be safely exported. 

Walking around the facilities, guests saw how grain is stored in elevators and loaded into USAID funded grain wagons for further export. To increase the export capacity of AR Boryspil, USAID ERA purchased 25 grain wagons. USAID’s assistance enabled AR Boryspil to raise its own funds and invest in an additional 15 wagons, bringing their total wagon count to 40 grain wagons. 

“Our fleet of 40 grain wagons will allow us to increase exports of grain by at least 60,000 tons per year. The support of international partners is important for our company, and we are ready to jointly invest in new projects to develop Ukraine’s export potential. Today, we evaluate not only investments in logistics, but also other projects—expansion of elevators, oil processing, biogas, and dairy farms.” – says Taras Ivanyshyn, Investments Director of Agro-Region. 

Furthermore, USAID provided truck scales which reduce loading and unloading times and ensure accurate cargo weight. About 100 farmers selling grain to AR Boryspil, use these scales free of charge. Recently, USAID ERA delivered two powerful generators, which together with Agro-Region’s existing generators, will help maintain the autonomous operation of the elevator (storing, drying, and shipping) even in blackouts. 

AR Boryspil’s biggest challenge now is the military conscription. As of now, 34 workers have joined the military. Woman have filled in some of the gaps and AR Boryspil also invests resources in training additional workers who will be able to replace those mobilized.  

By 2022, Agro-Region exported an average of 250,000-300,000 tons of grain per year and is trying to increase the level of exports. Since April 2024, when Agro-Region received 25 wagons from USAID ERA, the cost of logistics decreased by 25% from the market price. 

AR Boryspil LLC is part of the Agro-Region Group, a group of 11 companies growing grain and oil crops in Ukraine. Agro-Region is a group of agricultural companies that cultivates 40,000 hectares of agricultural land in Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv and Zhytomyr oblasts. It has three elevators in Boryspil, Myropol and Zavorychi with a total storage capacity of about 160,000 tons. The company grows corn, wheat, rapeseed, soybeans, barley, sunflower and oats. 

USAID ERA wraps up year-long career guidance program in lviv

Increasing Opportunities
15 May 2024

On May 2, 2024, the Ukrainian Students League (USL) completed the fourth and final session of a career guidance program supported by the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA). The training was organized for students of higher education and vocational institutions in Lviv to develop their job search capabilities, improve communication skills, and assist them in securing employment. 

Started in July 2023, the project enabled 246 students to acquire leadership, teamwork, time management, and negotiation skills through training courses, mentorship opportunities and internships. Students gained firsthand experience by visiting and participating in internships with companies in the hospitality, IT, media, and marketing sectors.  

Sixty students completed their training, with another 60 soon to finish, and 24 graduates of the program are now gainfully employed.  

Kirsten Pfeiffer, USAID ERA’s Deputy Chief of Party, congratulated the participants of the program on completing the course completion. 

“When I was at a similar stage in my education and career, a professor told me, ‘Stop worrying about the next choice you’re making. Sit back and give it a try – if you do not try, you will never find out what it’s like to work in this field or for this company,’ she said. “I wish you to continue moving forward, finding solutions to new challenges, and investing in your future. As you start your internship, seize every opportunity to learn, grow, and make your contribution to the economy of Ukraine in a responsible and effective manner.”  

According to Andriy Kolodiy, a student at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv,

“The course showed me not to be afraid to try my hand at different things and to not give up. I am so motivated now and would like to thank the organizers of this course for granting students the opportunity to attend such events and motivate them to develop in right direction.” 

Anastasia Trots, a graduate of the 3rd session of the career guidance program and student at Lviv Professional College of the Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design and Lviv Polytechnic National University, said,

“It was very important for me to participate in this project. I learned valuable information regarding job search and career development, and expanded my knowledge and skills. After taking part in the project, I interned with USL team, which allowed me to apply the knowledge and skills I acquired.”