22 – 23 May 2019 – A workshop entitled “Agriculture and society: A multi-stakeholder dialogue for stable and sustainable development” (UaAgriDialog) for researchers, academics and representatives from practice, politics and civil society took place in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. The event is organised by IAMO jointly with the Zhytomyr National Agroecological University.
In recent years, the agricultural sector has become the engine of the Ukrainian economy. Almost 40 percent of Ukrainian exports are agricultural and food products. The agricultural sector has become both, an important source of foreign exchange and a major employer for the rural population. This development goes hand in hand with the development of large corporate export-oriented enterprises, also known as agroholdings, which are often associated with detrimental societal effects such as dispossession and distributional injustice in rural areas. As a result, agriculture is increasingly becoming the focus of public attention. In addition, there is an ongoing debate about agricultural land market, the exploitation of rural resources and infrastructure, and the negative environmental impact of intensive soil cultivation without any adequate compensation from agricultural enterprises for rural development.
The workshop serves as a platform to discuss tensions in Ukrainian agriculture as well as public and private policy instruments. The aim is to find ways to resolve existing tensions and to achieve a win-win situation for all stakeholders. In addition, the event is intended to contribute to more in-depth knowledge about the sustainable development of agriculture in Ukraine. The event will contain lectures by experts, a panel session, an excursion and a group work.
Topics discussed during the workshop include:
- Social aspects of the land market in Ukraine
- Modern agriculture and environmental protection
- Social responsibility of agribusinesses
- Role of civil society in the interaction between agriculture and local communities
- Public policies for sustainable agriculture and rural development
- Decentralization reform and rural development
The workshop is financially supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) from funds of the German Foreign Office (AA). The official language during the event was English.
UaAgriDialog Workshop
„Agriculture and society: A multi-stakeholder dialogue for stable and sustainable development“
22 – 24 May 2019
Zhytomyr | Ukraine
uaagridialog.workshop(at)iamo.de
www.iamo.de/en/UaAgriDialog
