On September 20-21, TechUkraine had the privilege to participate at a large-scale agricultural conference AgriTech Nordic 2023, held in Steinkjer, Norway. Together with the Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (NUCC) and AgTech Ukraine, TechUkraine presented to our partners the full scale of issues and tendencies related to development of agriculture and tech during the war.
AgriTech Nordic Conference 2023 contributes to innovation where new technology intersects with agriculture, forestry and aquaculture industry based out of the region of Trøndelag, Norway. This year, such topics as regenerative agriculture and circularity, Ukrainian agriculture during the war, and a multi-faceted look at agrifoodtech were key at the conference.
The Norwegian – Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (NUCC) expressed its opinion on the event: “The importance of Ukraine as a key player to global food security cannot be understated, and should therefore also be included in Norwegian perspectives and strategies moving forward. Ukraine has traditionally been an exporter of raw ingredients and as a part of Ukrainian visions on “Build Back Better”, increased cooperation between our two countries within agritech is a logical and sensible approach, serving the interest of both people and planet. AgriTech Nordic was a great arena to explore new areas of cooperation and synergies, explore innovative technologies and establish new relationships.”
Our Director Nataly Veremeeva told Norwegian partners about the challenges and trends of the Ukrainian agricultural sector during the war:
«Ukrainian agriculture is very important overall. We have one of the most productive soils in the world and it is natural to use this valuable resource with great care and efficiency. We are leading in production of various crops, also grow fruits and vegetables, produce oils, etc. Apart from industrial farming we are also actively developing small enterprises, focused on delivery eco production. During the time of war its importance was even more highlighted. We are providing food to a vast majority of nations and because of the grain crisis when Russia blocked our ports, we now search for other ways to do this very important export. Another important area is demining agricultural soils and also developing the autonomous technologies of working on mine-polluted areas. Norway is seen as an important strategic partner, as on the one hand, this country is very smart in making the most of their soils, thus potentially possessing interesting technologies, and also has funds to further develop the technologies and test them also on Ukrainian fields, on the other hand, Ukraine can become a powerful agri and tech partner of Norway, both being a testbed for new technologies, initiate the growth of new Norway-Ukrainian AgriTech companies, and also provide Norway with the high-quality food products from Ukraine»
«Ukraine is a country of opportunities, and here’s why:
- We have a lot of entrepreneurs working with the agricultural sector who have ambition and energy.
- We have developers who will create cool and high-quality IT products that can be used all over the world with ambition and energy.
- We need resources. Ukrainian agricultural entrepreneurs are ready for that global market, and we are open and ready for a mutually beneficial partnership. In Ukraine, it is easy and quick to test an idea/theme and start a business. We win thanks to leadership and technology.
I am confident in the great prospects for partnership between our countries and entrepreneurs.» — the Business Development Lead at TechUkraine, Vitalii Matvieiev commented.
«Food production in Ukraine changed a lot since the start of full scale war. We lost part of the agricultural lands because of occupation, fields mining and war leftovers contamination. Also there was a significant impact on irrigation in South of Ukraine due to Kakhovka water reservoir destruction. It caused some deficit of vegetables and Ukraine lost a big part of internal production for cherries, peaches, tomatoes and watermelons. On the other hand, field crops bring record yields to farmers for the second year in a row, but there is no internal demand and huge problems with export.
Technologies, which are the most valuable for Ukrainian agriculture right now:
- Drones for spraying (to replace aviation pesticides application for high crops and for desiccation)
- Autopilots for farming machinery to perform field operations remotely (also for demining purposes)
- Commodity crops processing to generate value added products (new facilities setup)
AgriTech Nordic was a surprisingly big event with a diverse mix of participants. It brought the understanding of local AgTech context and opportunities for new partnerships. We spoke with few Norwegian funds about possible investment into Ukrainian startups, connected with Aggrator incubator from Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Wageningen University and Research, discussed potential participation of Ukrainian projects delegation next year with event organizers and also found some technologies, which might be interesting for Ukrainian agriculture in the future,” – added Yuriy Petruk, Head of the Board of AgTech Ukraine and FAO Consultant.
NUCC is a non-profit, non governmental organization established by and for Norwegian and Ukrainian companies. The first priority of the organization is to change the attitude towards Ukrainian business climate by delivering information on business possibilities to potential investors and to increase bilateral trade activity.
AgTech Ukraine is an initiative, which acts on the intersection of IT and Agriculture. It started in 2015 as an industry association mainly concentrated on technologies for precision farming. Organization is concentrated on AgTech promotion inside Ukraine and international cooperation promotion in this domain. It also provides assistance for outer companies entering Ukraine with their technologies and supports Ukrainian AgTech startups.
TechUkraine is a platform focused on supporting Ukraine’s fast-growing tech ecosystem. It aims at uniting and driving cooperation among ecosystem leaders, government officials, business partners and donors to further support Tech and to foster our ecosystem integration in the global technological ecosystem.
Many thanks to NUCC for funding the Ukrainian delegation at Agritech Nordic 2023. Special thanks to the event organizers for raising global topics, powerful networking and acquaintances, strong organization and execution.
See you with new innovations at Ukrainian agritech.
