Series of e-dialogues, organized by FAO and EBRD, are gathering hundreds of urban farmers, investors, input providers, public authorities and tech companies, to discuss current and future challenges and opportunities for urban agriculture.

Join the discussion on the 3^rd e-dialogue “The Role of Technology in Urban Agriculture”

March 12, 2022, Zoom

With more than 80 percent of food projected to be consumed in expanding cities by 2050 and the current environmental crises, the need of shifting food production also to urban areas is strongly emerging with all its challenges and promises. After the first two E-dialogues held in November and December 2021, where over 250 participants from 40 different countries discussed and exchanged experiences about challenges and opportunities for the sector and about the role of municipalities and local institutions, it is now time to start looking to one of the pillars of modern urban farming: Technology.

Technology is the main driver of competitiveness in urban agriculture. High-tech and data-driven operations of crops production in urban and peri-urban environment demand a whole new set of skills in IT, financial, marketing and human resources management, as well as significant investments in research and development. This brings us to the question – what is the limit of the tech revolution in urban farming?

FAO and EBRD invite you to the third interactive e-dialogue of a nine-part series: “The Role of Technology in Urban Farming”, that will take place March 17, 2022, from 2 pm to 3:30 pm CET on the Zoom platform.

Professor Leo Marcelis from Wageningen University & Research will moderate the interactive discussion of participants from all over the world and speakers, high academic representatives and small, medium and large urban farming companies including AeroFarms, LocalGreen and Fluence Bioengineering, on the: importance of technology in the business and how it shaped current urban agriculture settings, financial and human cost of applying technology, the role of banks and investors in the process and what are the key trends that will shape the future of urban agriculture.

To register for the e-dialogue: click here.

The registration for the e-dialogue is free of charge.

To participate in the FAO and EBRD survey on urban and peri-urban agriculture [click here]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have been working on a technical cooperation package to support the agribusiness sector during the COVID-19 crisis, including a work area on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture.

Сообщение “Thinking Urban Agriculture” – Global networking and Knowledge Exchange появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit, Ukraine is one of the leading global exporters of the wild blueberries – Ukrainian king of antioxidants. Organically certified low bush blueberries could boost the health of consumers’ heart and overall immune system, it is also an excellent source of dietary fibre, vitamin C and vitamin K and contains a large number of antioxidants. Consequently, Ukrainian wild blueberries considered a “superfood” and the Amethyst Ole company supplies local and international buyers with it.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) have helped the company to upgrade its production and boost exports. Amethyst Ole is located in the village of Rudnya Bystra in northern Ukraine. It procures and processes wild berries – blueberries in particular. Local businesses and micro-farmers in the Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsk, Rivne and Volyn regions harvest wild berries and bring them to designated collection points scattered around various villages. By midnight, Ole picks up the berries and takes them to the production site. Every batch is processed within four hours of arrival. This ensures that the berries remain fresh and retain their healthy properties.

“When we started in 2011, we already had extensive experience of retailing berries, but with Ole we wanted to concentrate on quality over quantity and, even more importantly, create jobs for locals and give farmers an opportunity to have their goods sold outside Ukraine. With blueberry exports on the rise, we ship to Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium and many other countries,” says Vasyl Chamor, Ole’s Chief Operating Officer.

Freshly picked berries are unloaded in a cooling corridor at -5℃ and then stored in a freezer room at -22 to -25℃ before reaching the processing line.

First, a spiral conveyor fans the berries and separates off the leaves, gravel and any other waste. The blueberries are then automatically sorted according to size before reaching the electronic cleaning machine. This state-of-the-art machine, is a custom-built photographic berry separator, has 16-colour video cameras that allow a 360-degree view of the processed berries.

“This machine is necessary to ensure that only top-quality berries reach the final physical quality check and inspection line before being packed and shipped,” Vasyl explains.

After a final quality check, the blueberries are electronically weighed and packed. Every package goes through a metal detector and is checked for radiation levels. In addition, every batch of berries undergoes regular spot checks for harmful particles.

“We take consumer safety very seriously. Our goal is to ensure that our processing machinery and methods meet the high standards set by the EU. That is why we have all our equipment and processes certified. This includes all relevant certifications for ISO, organic and natural product processing and hazard analysis standards,” Vasyl adds.

Lastly, the company stores the packed blueberries in freezing chambers at approximately -35℃ until they are shipped to customers.

The EU4Business-EBRD credit line helped the berry processor to upgrade machinery and purchase crate-washing equipment, as the company was able to take out a loan through local partner institution Bank Lviv. Amethyst Ole is just one of the 470 Ukrainian businesses that have benefited from EBRD-EU4Business credit line funds.

Small and medium-sized businesses are vital for sustainable economic development in any country. For agriculturally focused countries like Ukraine, it remains challenging to access technologies and meet industry standards, especially for businesses that are located outside big cities and regional centres.

Through partner banks, the EBRD and the EU support firms in Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership countries with finance and grant incentives to meet international standards and regulations. This unlocks new opportunities and markets for SMEs, boosts export volumes and builds better economies in the long run.

Сообщение EBRD provides credit to a Ukrainian exporter of frozen berries появились сначала на EastFruit.

The national online conference “Horticulture of Tajikistan – the Best Investment Niches” will be held on March 16, 2021. The conference will be held online from 14:00 to 16:00 (Dushanbe) and it has been designed to acquaint agrarians of Tajikistan with the best investment niches in the horticulture sector.

During the event, speakers from around the world will offer conference participants promising niches in the produce business, including:

• production of berries in greenhouses;
• freezing vegetables, fruits, and berries;
• apple business with obligatory infrastructure for storage of crops;
• industrial cultivation of walnuts, almonds, and pistachios;
• growing and drying herbs and spices for exports;
• production of dried fruits and vegetables;
• growing cherries in a super-intensive orchard for export;
• greenhouse business opportunities.

The event will be held with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The partner of the event is the agro-media agency Sapieza.

Participation in the event is free subject to registration. To register for the conference “Horticulture of Tajikistan – the Best Investment Niches,” please follow this link: https://forms.gle/17Dr16brwCXYQ17c6.

The conference will be held on the ZOOM platform and all registered participants will receive a link to the event.

For organizational matters, please contact Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov at +992 927 544 871.

Сообщение National online conference “Horticulture of Tajikistan – the best investment niches” появились сначала на EastFruit.

Our first article detailed the positive outcomes for the Moldovan village of Costesti and factors leading to their farmers’ success and cooperation. Our second article focused on the technologies for growing and pruning table grapes, including why table grape growers are switching to pergola technology, using special film to cover grapes to protect from rain and hail, and using greenhouses to grow early grapes. In this third and final installment of our series, we will discuss in detail the technologies for storing grapes in refrigerators, size of refrigeration chambers, types of containers and packaging, and demonstrate what a fully automatic production line of veneer boxes looks like.

As you may recall, the 12,000 residents from the Moldovan village of Costesti generates about $30-40 million in proceeds from the sale of grapes, plums, cherries and other fruits and is actively developing cooperation. Their construction of refrigerators for storing late grapes and plums in the village, according to the Head of the Moldovan Table Grape Producers and Exporters Association Ion Sula, began only 15 years ago. Many mistakes were made back then. One of the most common beginner mistakes is building very small refrigerators. As a result, the cost of storage is too high, which negatively affects the return on investment.

Andriy Yarmak, economist at the FAO Investment Department, notes that at the first stage of refrigerator construction for storing table grapes and fruits in Moldova, they were built not by producers, but by resellers and traders who bought table grapes cheaply during harvesting, stored them, and then sold them when it rose in price. This business worked great while the number of storage facilities was insufficient, but it gradually became less profitable.

“The storage for fruits and vegetables is not a separate business, but an integral part of the business of growing and selling fruit and vegetable products. When I say this, especially in countries where refrigerators are in short supply, many grin and they say, ‘we know better – we personally make good money on this.’ However, over time, the storage only grows, and this business dies. Therefore, storage facilities inevitably pass into the hands of producers and their cooperatives. Now, if you grow apples, plums, grapes, onions, potatoes or any other vegetable or fruit subject to long-term storage on an industrial scale, then you simply have to consider not only the cost of planting an orchard or vineyard per 1 hectare, but also the cost of storage per 1 hectare… Moreover, it is necessary to layout the cost of the business as well as the line for sorting, processing and packaging products. And these investments, in most cases, are more than the cost of planting a garden, which makes the cooperation of farmers even more urgent,” states Andriy Yarmak.

During our 2019 study trip to Moldova, EastFruit experts managed to visit the Eco-Fruit Farmers Cooperative. Cooperative members jointly store and sell their produce and provide storage services to other farmers. The cooperative has its own modern storage facility, its own sorting and packaging of products, as well as seven trucks to independently deliver products for export and to consumers in the domestic market. In Moldova, the state returns 50% of investments in storage facilities to cooperatives from the budget, but only after the project is put into operation.

The six members of the cooperative grow not only table grapes, but also plum and cherry orchards. Cherries are sold after refrigeration and plums after storage. In the cooperative’s fruit storage, each chamber holds 80 tons of products, which is equal to four truckloads. In addition, there are specially equipped pre-cooling chambers where 20 tons of grapes can be cooled at a time.

In the video below, you will see what the pre-cooling chamber looks like and how grapes are stored in Moldova.

Fast cooling is achieved thanks to special fans that direct the flow of cold air and remove warm air outside the chamber. The grapes are cooled from approximately 40 degrees Celsius down to 4-6 degrees in just four hours. Then, the grapes are cooled even further to zero degrees in order to be stored for a long time. Additionally, different programs and storage modes are used for different varieties of table grapes.

The modern consumer is more willing to buy table grapes if the branch remains green even after storage because it’s viewed as an indicator of the freshness of the product. Accordingly, the same requirements are imposed by supermarket chains and importers. Therefore, in order to keep the branches green, local producers are actively adapting growing technologies and storage regimes. Also, they are using special bags with sulfur to prevent the development of fungal diseases on grapes.

The use of bags with sulfur for storing grapes is a fairly new trend in Moldova, despite the fact that they have been used for a long time in Central Asian countries as well as the United States and Chile. The vast majority of producers in Moldova use the older method where treatment with sulfur dioxide is carried out directly in the chambers every week. After processing, sulfur dioxide is discharged outside the chamber through special pipes to avoid corrosion of sandwich panels and refrigeration units.

However, the cooling units in the chambers still suffer from sulfur leakage. To prevent the units from corroding, stainless steel is used in Moldova. Although they are expensive, they provide durability to refrigeration equipment.

The grapes are usually harvested in veneer or plywood boxes. The grapes are stored and shipped to consumers in them as well so the need for such boxes in the village of Costesti is very high. EastFruit managed to see a fully automatic line for the production of veneer boxes in operation. The cost of a new line, according to experts, is estimated at around 300,000 euros. Such lines are used in EU countries where labor costs are high. But in countries with low labor costs, as a rule, cheaper semi-automatic lines prevail.

You can see how a fully automatic line for the production of veneer and plywood boxes works in Costesti in the following video:

Fedir Rybalko, Head of the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA) in 2019, notes that the veneer box has its advantages, but it also has disadvantages. For supermarket chains in particular, such packaging is not very convenient because it must be constantly removed from the store and then bear the costs of disposal. “In the EU, this problem is easier to solve. There, due to the absence of borders between countries, pooling systems for recycled plastic containers work well. It is more environmentally friendly and significantly cheaper for both the manufacturer and the supermarket chain. It is still difficult for Moldova to implement such a system, since almost all grown products are forced to cross borders, and it is very difficult to resolve the issue of returning containers, both legally and technically,” says Fedir Rybalko.

Speaking about the development prospects of the fruit business in Costesti, Yuri Khurmuzaki, Deputy Director of the Federation of Farmers of Moldova (FARM), talks about the beginning of effective farmer cooperation as the first important qualitative leap in the development of production and marketing of fruits in the region. In his opinion, the cooperation of producers will increase the productivity of vineyards, the quality of products, their safety and presentability, and hence the price. At the same time, storage costs will decrease due to the enlargement of refrigerators and their modernization.

“If you get more high-quality products, store and sell them better, and at the same time reduce costs, then you earn more. We at FARM think that it is thanks to cooperation that Moldovan grape producers will be able to increase their incomes, which will allow them to start large-scale technological re-equipment, find funds for investment in training and, most importantly, in marketing. We think that Costesti will eventually become a kind of business school for all table grapes growers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. After all, we are always happy to share our experience and are open to continue learning from others,” says Yuri Khurmuzaki.

The EastFruit project, FAO and the EBRD are grateful to the village of Costesti for their hospitality and openness as well as their desire to share experiences with producers from other countries. We wish this unique village further prosperity and development.

Read also:
Grape capital of Eastern Europe – Costesti, Moldova: village of multimillionaires (part 1)
Grape capital – Costesti, Moldova: protective coverings, pergolas and greenhouses (part 2)

Сообщение Grape capital – Costesti, Moldova: storage and cooling plus veneer box production (part 3) появились сначала на EastFruit.

In the first part of our story about the village of Costesti in Moldova, we discussed the factors of their success. It is important to remember that this village of only 12,000 people generated about $30-40 million in proceeds from the sale of grapes, plums, cherries and other fruits plus they actively participate in cooperation. The Association of Table Grape Producers and Exporters was also established Costesti, which provides great technical and marketing support to table grape growers.

In this second part, we will explain the technological trends and new technologies for growing table grapes and illustrate this in videos.

In order to reduce the risks to grapes from bad weather and damage from hail, they recently tried to cover the grapes in Costesti with a special film. This technology also improves the overall quality of the product, which means getting a higher price and reducing losses during storage. And although it costs more than $20,000 per hectare to cover the grapes, it pays off very quickly.

According to Moldovan table grape growers, without covering the vineyards in Moldova, it is unrealistic to obtain quality products. Any rain before harvest can destroy the quality of the product and make it unsuitable for long-term storage. Such grapes can only be sold for processing into grape alcohol very cheaply, which means that you will receive a guaranteed loss. Sheltering the vineyards also helps to extend the harvesting season, which is very important in the face of a shortage of labor. High labor costs and simply the physical absence of people to work in harvesting fruits and berries are one of the most acute problems in the village and indeed throughout Moldova.

Farmers in Costesti are also switching to pergola table grapes in large numbers to increase plantation productivity. A joint FAO/EBRD project has been promoting the transition to this technology for several years now, which is already yielding its first positive results. Also, many growers have installed weather stations with soil moisture sensors in order to use water more efficiently, reduce the risks of losses from bad weather and improve product quality.

In the video below, you will see what a Moldovan plantation of table grapes under film to protect them from rain and hail looks like. You can also see how a conventional plantation is being converted to pergola technology and how grapes are transported after harvest to minimize labor costs. The video includes an interview with the farmer himself about the reasons for the transition to more modern cultivation technologies.

Also in Moldova, projects are underway for growing table grapes in greenhouses, which allows for almost twice the yield and sells 4-5 times higher yet without having to invest in expensive storage facilities. These technologies are also actively promoted by the FAO/EBRD project. At the 2019 conference “Fruit and Vegetable Sector of Moldova – the Best Investment Niches”, a session was allocated to the cultivation of grapes in greenhouses.

In the second video below, you can watch a master class on cutting table grapes in a greenhouse by Gulom Otajanov, agronomist of the Khoja Negmat Farm from Tajikistan for the farmer Yuri Bivol from Moldova. Ali Sotivoldiev helps him. Farmers claim that with such pruning, 80 tons of grapes per hectare can be obtained.

Early grapes are in high demand since Moldova is situated near many Black Sea resorts where tourists in large numbers visit every July and August. Growing early grape varieties in greenhouses makes meeting this demand possible because high quality products are guaranteed. Greenhouses practically eliminate risks from frost, hail, rain and other weather factors and costs of protecting against pests and diseases are reduced.

High quality table grapes from greenhouses are very transportable, which increases its value in the eyes of buyers like supermarket chains and wholesalers. In addition, there are less problems delivering in the summer to the resort cities further away in Ukraine or Romania and even as far as Russian markets where grapes are also very relevant in July-August.

In July-August, retail prices for grapes, even on the domestic market of Moldova, reach 4-5 euros per kg. The first farmers who introduced greenhouse technologies for growing grapes have already realized they can generate 6-10 times more revenue per hectare than traditional approaches. Therefore, one should expect the rapid development of this segment of the grape business in the coming years, especially since there are funds for investment in the village of Costesti where the traditional grape business is also profitable.

In the last video below, you can see what the grapes look like in a greenhouse as well as watch an interview with a farmer about the specifics of growing greenhouse grapes. He also explains why he switched from tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers to growing table grapes indoors. The farmer grows Rochefort grapes (a relative of the Cardinal variety).

Read also:
Grape capital of Eastern Europe – Costesti, Moldova: village of multimillionaires (part 1)
Grape capital – Costesti, Moldova: storage and cooling plus veneer box production (part 3)

Сообщение Grape capital – Costesti, Moldova: protective coverings, pergolas and greenhouses (part 2) появились сначала на EastFruit.

A video presentation of four leading apple exporting companies from Ukraine with interesting facts about the prospects of Ukraine as an important exporter of fresh apples appeared in English on the EastFruit YouTube channel.

“In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cancellation of exhibitions, conferences and trade missions, the opportunities for establishing new trade contacts, especially at the international level, is sharply reduced. This can negatively affect the development of agribusiness, and especially the fruit and vegetable business, where products have limited terms of sale,” says Andriy Yarmak, economist at the investment department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and head of the regional project for the development of fruit and vegetable trade, operating in six countries, particularly, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

“FAO and EBRD are trying to do everything possible to ensure that important business contacts can be established for the development of fruit and vegetable exports. To do this, we are actively developing our trading platforms, working with industry associations, and creating such virtual trading missions as we call them. The popularity of our YouTube channel and EastFruit portal allows us to get good results even for this promotion format. By the way, we will be happy to provide this platform for representatives of other sectors of the fruit and vegetable business,” says Andriy Yarmak.

Read also: EastFruit’s first virtual trade mission – Moldovan apple exporters (video)

The video lists interesting facts about the prospects for the development of the apple business in Ukraine. In particular, it is noted that the agricultural lands of Ukraine are approximately equal in area to the land tracts of the two largest EU countries, namely Germany and France, but the quality of these lands is higher. Due to the unique climate, with a minimum amount of precipitation, a large number of sunny days and high fluctuations in night and day temperatures, an apple grown in Ukraine has high quality indicators in color, BRIX, and taste.

Also, the dry and hot climate in summer with cold winters allows Ukrainian gardeners to use less plant protection products than in most other European countries. That is why Ukraine is a country with one of the highest growth rates in apple exports in the world, and that is why the country was able to quickly find markets outside the traditional countries of the former USSR.

Сообщение Ukrainian apple exporters – presentation in English and interesting facts появились сначала на EastFruit.