Agrarian Sumy Region – 2021

About this year’s achievements of the agricultural season in tons, liters, hectares, and percentages, as well as innovations in the agricultural sector

On the occasion of Agricultural Workers’ Day, which is celebrated annually on the third Sunday of November, in a conversation with the Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development of the Sumy Regional State Administration, Oleksandr MASLAK, we tried to find out how the whims of the weather in spring and summer affected the agro-industrial complex, what records the region set this year, and when an agro-tourism magnet will appear in the Sumy region.

r: What achievements can the agricultural sector of the Sumy region be proud of this year?

Oleksandr Maslak: The Sumy region is among the top five regions of Ukraine in terms of grain and legume crop yields and ranks 6th in gross grain production.

However, weather conditions significantly affected the progress of agricultural work. In particular, unusually cool weather was observed in spring with temperature fluctuations and prolonged precipitation, which complicated fieldwork and restrained its pace. This led to a decrease in yields by 3–5% compared to last year. Currently, harvesting of agricultural crops of the 2021 yield is being completed.

As of 11.11.2021, according to operational data, 658.4 thousand hectares of grain and legume crops were threshed, which is 91% of the projected area, with an average yield of 62.1 c/ha (compared to 64.2 c/ha last year). A total of 4.1 million tons of grain were harvested, including grain corn – 2.9 million tons (86% of the projected area) with a yield of 73.8 c/ha (7th place among the regions of Ukraine) (compared to 75.3 c/ha last year).
Sunflower harvesting was completed on an area of 256.0 thousand hectares, yielding 786.3 thousand tons (884.1 thousand tons in 2020) with a yield of 30.7 c/ha, which is 1.5 c/ha less than last year. Soybean production increased, with 163.1 thousand tons harvested (+1.6 thousand tons compared to last year) at a yield of 23.2 c/ha.

Gross production of grain and legume crops in 2021 will amount to about 4.3 million tons, including an expected harvest of grain corn of about 3.1 million tons. The share of early grain and legume crops in total production is about 30% (1.2 million tons).

Under favorable weather and climatic conditions, farmers of the Sumy region will be able to complete the harvest in the near future.

r: Please tell us in more detail about the plans for building facilities for primary and secondary processing of hemp raw materials and about news in this area of agricultural activity.

O.M.: The Sumy region is among the leaders in the cultivation of industrial hemp. The share of hemp sown areas in the Sumy region amounts to 22.2% of the total area under this crop in Ukraine. In 2021, one stationary and one mobile line for processing retted hemp into fiber operated in the region. Secondary processing of hemp raw materials is carried out by only one enterprise in the region – LLC “Sumykamvol” (Sumy).
The Sumy Regional State Administration became the initiator of the creation of the agro-tourism cluster “Slobozhanske Hemp Growing” in the Sumy region – a hallmark and one of the “magnets” of the Sumy region and Ukraine.

According to the decision of 29.12.2020 of the project selection commission for regional development projects of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, which can be implemented using state budget funds received from the European Union, and based on the results of the competitive selection, this project was included in the list of winners recommended for financing in 2021.

The project is financed from the State Budget of Ukraine in the amount of over 14 million UAH. It provides for increasing the attractiveness of the territory for investment in the development of hemp growing and related areas of entrepreneurial activity by creating a favorable investment environment, implementing scientific developments into practical activities, forming new tourist sites and routes, as well as promoting the consumption of food products from hemp seeds and the use of hemp processing products in everyday life.
Considering the implementation of the above-mentioned project, the region needs the construction of facilities for primary and secondary processing of hemp raw materials. In the Sumy region, an enterprise for primary and secondary processing of hemp raw materials should operate within an industrial park. Therefore, the Sumy Regional State Administration is currently carrying out organizational work to determine the possibilities of its creation and further activity within the “Sumy” industrial park and, if appropriate, the registration of a new industrial park with a defined specialization.

r: What other facilities appeared during the spring-summer season?

O.M.: As of 01.11.2021, on the territory of the Duboviazivka settlement council (the village of Viazove, Konotop district), the private manufacturing commercial enterprise “STS” put into operation the first stage of an elevator with a capacity of 28 thousand tons of simultaneous grain storage (the total expected capacity of the elevator is 100 thousand tons of grain). The third stage of construction of additional elevator capacities is also being implemented at LLC “Krolevets Feed Mill” (Krolevets City Council) with a capacity of 120 thousand tons.

In the livestock sector, a milking parlor with a capacity of 500 cows was commissioned at LLC “Veleten” (Hlukhiv City Council), and reconstruction of a livestock facility with a capacity of 2 thousand cows at LLC “Moloko Vitchyzny” in the village of Mariivka, Sumy district, was completed.
In the food and processing industry, at LLC “ELIT-OIL” of the Romny district, a property complex for an oilseed processing enterprise with a capacity of 600 tons per day is under reconstruction, with a readiness level of 86% (investments of previous years amounting to 120 million UAH). Construction has begun by LLC “Indychka” of a poultry meat packaging unit in the village of Krovne with a capacity of 27 tons per day and a feed mill with a capacity of 15 tons per day in the village of Stepanivka, Sumy district.

r: What achievements do producers of organic products have?

O.M.: To date, there are 6 business entities in the region that have certificates for organic production, namely: Agrofirm LLC “INBERRY” (blueberries, bilberries, strawberries), Individual Entrepreneur Marchenko A.M. (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, greens), Farm “Mriia-SK” (buckwheat), Individual Entrepreneur “Tsviliov M.M.” (buckwheat), Sumy National Agrarian University (buckwheat, spring barley, winter wheat, grapes, raspberries, currants), LLC “Moloko Vitchyzny” (organic fertilizers).

In 2021, 4 business entities applied for partial reimbursement of costs related to obtaining a certificate for organic production in the total amount of 41.8 thousand UAH.
In 2020, 5 business entities participated in the program in this area for a total amount of 64.3 thousand UAH.
r: What are the export volumes of products from the Sumy region?

O.M.: The food and processing industry is an integral part of the agro-industrial sector of the Sumy region. For the production of food products, in particular dairy and meat products and oil, high-quality raw materials of agricultural enterprises of the region are used. Export-oriented food producers, having implemented food safety management systems based on HACCP principles, produce products that meet the standards of European markets and are competitive. This year, markets of such countries as Algeria, Hong Kong, and Pakistan were opened.

Over 10 months of 2021, agricultural products and their processed products produced in the Sumy region were exported to 19 countries. In particular, beef in the amount of 2,556 tons was exported to Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, China, Hong Kong; poultry meat (166 tons) – to Benin, Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, Bahrain; hard cheese (38 tons) – to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan; powdered milk (950 tons) – to Azerbaijan, Algeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh; chicken eggs (2.1 million pieces) – to the UAE, Congo, Qatar; sunflower meal (3,984 tons) – to Poland, Belarus; soybeans (1,050 tons) – to Turkmenistan.

r: What amount of investments was received by the agricultural sector of the Sumy region?

O.M.: In 2021, farmers of the region are expected to attract 1.9 billion UAH in investments for the implementation of 24 investment projects in the agro-industrial complex of the region.

According to operational data, during January–October 2021, more than 1.2 billion UAH in investments were attracted to the development of the agro-industrial complex and rural areas of the Sumy region, which is two thirds of the projected volume for 2021.

The largest share of investments was directed to the purchase of agricultural machinery – 875.5 million UAH and to the development of agricultural market infrastructure – 218.6 million UAH.

Investments amounting to 23.7 million UAH were directed to crop production, 129.1 million UAH to livestock farming, 11.1 million UAH to the development of the food and processing industry of the region from the beginning of 2021, and 10.5 million UAH to the modernization of the machine and tractor fleet.

r: What is the state support this year (compensations, areas of budget subsidies)?

O.M.: The Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2021” provides expenditures in the amount of 4.5 billion UAH under programs to support the development of the agricultural sector of the economy. The procedure for using funds provided in the state budget for financial support of agricultural producers for 2021 defines the following areas of use of budget funds: state support for the development of livestock farming and processing of agricultural products; financial support for the development of farms; partial compensation of the cost of domestically produced agricultural machinery and equipment, etc. Currently, the deadline for submitting documents for receiving funds has already expired for several areas, payments are being made or payment documents are being formed.

For example, under the area “Subsidy for keeping goats and sheep,” according to the submitted documents, the Department transferred 1.14 million UAH to 6 business entities for keeping 1,114 sheep and 26 goats. Under the area “Special budget subsidy for keeping cows of all productivity directions to a farm that owns from five cows identified and registered in accordance with the law,” 7 applications were accepted from farms, and the amount of the subsidy amounted to 980 thousand UAH for 196 cows. Budget funds were transferred to recipients in full.

In 2021, subsidies are provided to recipients on a non-refundable basis within the budget allocations provided in the state budget for the current year, calculated per one hectare of cultivated land on which buckwheat was grown, in the amount of up to 5 thousand UAH per hectare, but not more than 300 hectares of cultivated land per recipient. As of 12.11.2021, 57 applications were submitted to the Department from business entities engaged in buckwheat cultivation in 2021.
The areas of financial support “Partial compensation of the cost of domestically produced agricultural machinery and equipment” and “Financial support of measures in the agro-industrial complex through interest rate compensation on loans” are in high demand among farmers of the Sumy region.

According to operational data of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, 93 business entities of the agro-industrial complex of the Sumy region were granted partial compensation of interest on loans used in the period January–August of the current year in the amount of 30.7 million UAH.

Farmers of the Sumy region received 60.82 million UAH from the state budget this year as partial compensation for the cost of domestically produced agricultural machinery and equipment.