Opening new opportunities for Ukrainian farmers

Following the results of the working meeting at the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine

A working meeting was held at the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on Friday (January 21) with the participation of First Deputy Minister Taras Vysotskyi (pictured in the center), State Secretary of the Ministry Viktor Kantsurak (first on the left), Chairman of the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum Volodymyr Makukha and representatives of one of the leaders in the production of modern goods and new products for environmentally friendly cultivation of various types of crops, the leading company BRIMSTONE (Izmir, Turkey): member of the Board of Directors Cihan Hummadioglu (first on the right) and responsible for work with Ukraine Ahmet Annayev (second on the right).

The relevance and importance of this workshop was related to a number of reasons:

• According to the International Fertilizer Association (IFA), the trend related to the strengthening of environmental protection measures and balanced consumption of mineral fertilizers in agriculture is maintained at the global mineral fertilizer market. In 2019, the first international rules for the use of fertilizers were approved by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which is actively studying the impact of fertilizers on human health;
• The demand is intensifying for new types of fertilizers that meet the environmental requirements of the UN program and international FAO rules, including those aimed at growing organic agricultural products;
• The issue of preventing soil degradation is becoming more acute. According to the FAO, 20% of soils in Ukraine are currently subject to degradation, with annual losses estimated at billions of hryvnias.

One of the solutions to these problems is the use of production developments of BRIMSTONE. In particular, they drew attention to their new product Brimsol 90 based on sulfur (90% sulfur and 10% bentonite), most of which is exported to the European Union.

As it was noted during the meeting, the initiative “not to disregard Ukraine” of the international team of the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum supported by BRIMSTONE management can be considered as a significant investment of new opportunities for Ukrainian farmers.

First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi, noting the important communication role of the international platform of the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum, said that the Ministry conducts systematic work to promote new, relevant developments in agricultural science; they ensure sustainable movement in the direction of growing environmentally friendly agricultural products, contribute to the preservation and restoration of soil quality, while opening new opportunities for Ukrainian farmers to increase yields and quality of relevant crops.

The representatives of the management of the Turkish company BRIMSTONE, in turn, noted that based on many years of successful experience of the company with partners from around the world, they have always determined among their priorities, apart from ensuring high quality products, building and maintaining trust relationship between partners. Based on these principles, which are one of the components of their high international image, the company, after supporting last year's call “not to disregard Ukraine”, determined its priority steps to promote informed decisions of Ukrainian farmers on the use of their new product Brimsol 90 in growing crops (including organic ones). To this end, they have proposed a program on its experimental use for various crops (primarily oilseeds, potatoes and sugar beets), with scientific support. The scientific confirmation of the program was launched during last year's research use of Brimsol 90 by Bila Tserkva Agrarian University in soybean cultivation. Having received significantly positive results, similar work of scientific confirmation and scientific support on various crops is planned to be continued by the Institute of Irrigated Agriculture of NAAS of Ukraine and agricultural universities in the regions of Ukraine.

As it was noted during the working meeting in the Ministry, BRIMSTONE's positive decision to start active cooperation with Ukraine is not only another practical step in the development of multilateral partnership and active cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey, especially on the eve of signing a free trade agreement between these fraternal countries, but also another important step in establishing a bridge of cooperation and strengthening the economic security belt from the Baltic coast to Central Asia. Recalling the results of the 15th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), held in Ashgabat in November last year, BRIMSTONE can be positioned as one that practically implements the approved ECO plans on development cooperation between member states and intensify cooperation on issues on food security and hunger in the region. Moreover, the relevance of the example of the company's work, the effectiveness of which is associated in particular with business representatives from Turkey and Turkmenistan, demonstrates the effectiveness of cooperation with reliable partners from Uzbekistan. This statement and optimism for the future underscore the proposals for program action announced by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during the Ashgabat summit and a series of meetings, earlier this year, between leaders of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Turkey.

According to Volodymyr Makukha, Chairman of the Board of the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum:

«Based on the fact that the presidency of the ECO is moving to Uzbekistan in 2022, we should be sure that the program actions proposed by the President of Uzbekistan between the ECO member states will be actively implemented. Given Turkey's key role in promoting sustainable economic cooperation between Europe and Asia, the importance of such agricultural and food security projects is increasing. Based on the international initiative of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland ("Lublin Triangle"), the first positive results and significant prospects for its further development, including the cultivation of organic agricultural products, which opens a new product of the Turkish company BRIMSTONE, have already been discussed by phone with the Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of the Village of the Seimas of Lithuania Victor Pranketis. All these components, including clear and systematic work carried out by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, adjust to more active joint actions and provide an objective opportunity to predict very high prospects for positive results. It is no coincidence that namely this direction of cooperation, which further cements effective cooperation from the Baltic coast to Central and South Asia, has been worked out by the international team of the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum and is planned to be considered directly at the forum sites».

P.S. The final part of the VII Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum is scheduled for late March - early April this year. On behalf of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, First Deputy Minister Taras Vysotsky will take part in the forum.