На початку квітня на Апостолівщині відбулося офіційне вручення племінних нетелей власникам особистих селянських господарств на базі ферми Віктора Войтовича, члена сільського обслуговуючого кооперативу (СОК) «ім. Фрітьофа Нансена». Акція відбулася в рамках співпраці влади, бізнесу та благодійних організацій.

21 березня відбулася зустріч заступника голови обласної ради Олександра Чуприни із представниками Міжнародної Благодійної Організації «Добробут громад», а саме: президентом українського представництва МБО у м. Київ – Віктором Тересом, програмним директором – Анною Підгорною та координатором Львівського представництва МБО – Мироном Петришиним. Метою зустрічі було обговорення можливих варіантів співпраці організації із сільськими громадами Рівненської області.

Під час зустрічі Віктор Терес зауважив, що з 1994 року впроваджено та на стадії виконання 70 проектів у 21 області України та АР Крим, створено 63 сільськогосподарські обслуговуючі кооперативи, отримали допомогу більше 12000 родин. Найактивніше з організацією співпрацюють Кіровоградська, Чернівецька та Дніпропетровська області.

27-28 лютого у приміщення готелю «Голосіївськи» відбувся тренінг «Аналіз фінансового стану та господарської діяльності сільськогосподарських обслуговуючих кооперативів». Тренінг було організовано МБО «Добробут громад» разом із Дніпропетровською сільськогосподарською дорадчою службою та Одеською сільськогосподарською дорадчою службою.

Захід було організовано в рамках проекту «Розвиток молочарських кооперативів», та він мав на меті опрацювати результати діяльності кооперативів, задіяних до проекту, допомогти кооперативам удосконалити систему бухгалтерського обліку та побудувати ефективну систему заготівля та реалізації молока. На тренінг були запрошені лідери та бухгалтери кооперативів. Протягом другого дня тренінгу, лідери мали можливість представити бізнес-плани роботи СОКів та удосконалити їх з допомогою досвідчених тренерів. Для проведення цієї частини тренінгу були запрошені експерти Дніпропетровської сільськогосподарської дорадчої служби, а також регіональні координатори МБО "Добробут громад».

Для висвітлення теми ефективного управління кооперативом було запрошено експерта з кооперації Гриценка Миколу Петровича, який розповів про особливості статутів СОКів, формування організаційної структури та органів правління. Крім того він зупинився на питанні правил внутрішньої господарської діяльності СОК.

Питання бухгалтерської звітності та відповідного законодавства представила команда бухгалтерів МБО «Добробут громад» Андрій Кузьменко, Оксана Василенко, Марина Мурга та Тетяна Костина.

За словами учасників, проведений тренінг був надзвичайно корисним та прикладним. Він охопив багато питань, які вже давно цікавили як бухгалтерів, так і лідерів проектів. Неможна не відмітити високий рівень запрошених доповідачів.

21 жовтня 2011 року відбулася Національна виставка соціальних та екологічних проектів організацій та компаній в Україні – CSR Marketplace. CSR Marketplace – це інноваційний форум для обміну практиками та ідеями, де компанії, які впроваджують корпоративну соціальну відповідальність звітують перед своїми стейкхолдерами, презентуючи соціальні та екологічні проекти. Загалом, цього року на виставці було представлено близько 30 проектів.

МБО «Добробут громад» разом із компанією Данон-Україна мали можливість взяти участь у виставці та представити одразу три проекти: «Розвиток молочарських кооперативів в Україні», «Розвиток фруктових кооперативів в Україні» та «Кооперативна навчальна ферма та послуги».

Цей захід став гарним шансом не тільки презентувати успішність та розмаїття впроваджуваних проектів, але й зустріти інші компанії та організації, що мають бажання втілювати ініціативи соціальної відповідальності та обговорити можливості майбутніх спільних проектів.

Стенд МБО «Добробут громад» користувався надзвичайною популярністю серед учасників та відвідувачів виставки в першу чергу через те, що проекти організації були наймасштабнішими та найефективнішими серед усіх представлених.

Крім того, представники МБО «Добробут громад» мали можливість презентувати свою діяльність в рамках круглого столу під назвоню: «Як оцінити корпоративні проекти інвестицій в громаду». Методики оцінки проектів розвитку громад Україні, представлені під час круглого столу були високо оцінені всіма запрошеними як дійсно прикладні та ефективні.

Оргнізація вже вдруге бере участь у даному заході і вже вдруге учасники виставки відмічають, що МБО «Добробут громад» є організацією, яка дійсно приносить позитивні зміни та реальну допомогу в українське село, а також, що це той партнер, з яким хочеться працювати.

On October 6^th, 2011 Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration, Heifer-Ukraine and Agricultural Advisory Service concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation. The document was signed by Oleksandr Vilkul, Head of Dnipropetrovsk State Administration, Yevhen Udod, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council, Viktor Teres, Heifer-Ukraine Country Director and Maxym Maxymov, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Non-Profit Organization “Agricultural Advisory Service”. This event can be considered as a new step in Dnipropetrovsk oblast agro sector development. Such a collaboration between the local authorities and Heifer-Ukraine will help revive agricultural cooperation and significantly improve livestock quality in the region.

 The signed Memorandum includes allocation of funds and other support for the project on further development of milk communities and their unions. Moreover, it promotes establishment and development of the milk production enterprise (farm) built by the Union of agricultural service cooperatives in Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The enterprise will serve as training center for small milk producers – they will have an opportunity to learn about effective high-quality milk production and other farming methods (high-quality fodders, feeding, livestock management, milking etc).

One of the initiatives at the core of the Memorandum and further partnership was “Milk communities project” jointly implemented by Heifer-Ukraine, Ecosystem Fund Danone (France) and Danone-Ukraine CBU. Thanks to the support of local authorities, this project in Dnipropetrovsk oblast helped develop and equip two agricultural service cooperatives in Pokrovka raion and three agricultural service cooperatives in Apostolove raion.

Over 400 people are involved in the cooperatives. Today two cooperatives “Svitanok Oleksandrivky” and “Dobrobut Andriivky” are already collecting milk in the region with a total amount of two tons per day.

This project includes general funding in the amount of 1,6 Mln Euro at the national level aimed at improving the quality and increasing the volume of milk produced by individual farmers united into agricultural service cooperatives.

Over 120 000 Euro were invested into the project in Dnipropetrovsk oblast during first 6 months of implementation. It is expected that five supported cooperatives will soon be able  to collect  6,5 tons of milk per day.

Overall, the total number of all purebred heifers, provided by Heifer-Ukraine in the framework of implemented projects including cooperative farm, amounts to 215 heads; besides 95 heifers will be passed on as a gift from family to family according to Heifer Pass-on-the-Gift principle.

«As we all know, 80% of milk and other agricultural goods in Ukraine is produced by individual farmers. Providing support in the sector of dairy livestock development, we are also solving social problems in the villages, we help people improve their wellbeing, increase incomes and revive the tradition of family farms which used to be able to produce high quality products,” noted Viktor Teres, Heifer-Ukraine Country Director.

Yevhen Udod, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council, also underlined the importance of these initiatives and stated, “Today we observe deficit of milk in Ukraine. High volume milk products, such as yoghurts, butter and cheeses, are imported to our oblast. Taking into consideration our powerful agricultural potential, this situation is unacceptable. That is why we have to work on this problem involving such partners as Heifer-Ukraine, Danone and Oblast Non-Profit Organization “Agricultural Advisory Service”.”

The event which took place in Dnipropetrovsk on the next day has as much importance for the local communities as the previous day event.

The oblast contest “Fair of Ideas” held on 7^th October, 2011 was aimed at presenting development projects prepared by the local communities and at attracting resources of public organizations and funds for further projects implementation. The event covered over 200 projects. Among attendees there were 20 international funds and public organizations.

Heifer-Ukraine had an opportunity to present its initiatives in Dnipropetrovsk oblast and tell about its successes and achievements in Ukraine in general. Furthermore Viktor Teres, Heifer-Ukraine Country Director, got acquainted with the initiatives implemented in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, learned about the presented projects and had a chance to meet representatives of local communities in person.

As Yevhen Udod, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council, mentioned, “The “Fair of Ideas” opens up opportunities for effective cooperation between local authorities, potential investors and international funding organizations. Such cooperation will attract additional resources for improving social sphere in villages, townships and towns of Dnipropetrovsk oblast. We want the communities to learn not only the ways to resolve problems, but also the ways to improve lives of people”.

Both events became a confident step towards significant developments in the region. Thanks to effective cooperation of the local authorities and donor organizations of different levels, local communities will be capable not only of supplying the region with milk but also of changing their lives for better. It is important that all the parties involved have a common goal – to improve the wellbeing of people in the villages.

On September 7^th, 2011, the picturesque meadow of Andriivka village was crowded and noisy. People were arranging tables around the milk collection and cooling center, the next minute the tables were covered with delights cooked by the villagers; on the other side of the meadow one could see heifers under the shadow of the trees. Music was all around.

What kind of event could make all the villagers leave their households and come to the meadow? On September 7^th, 2011 a new milk collection and cooling center was opened on the base of ASC “Dobrobut Andriivky” in Andriivka village. Moreover, 15 families received purebred heifers of Holstein breed. All these events were conducted in the framework of “Milk communities project” implemented by Heifer-Ukraine and financially supported by “Danone Ecosystem Fund”. In Dnipropetrovsk oblast the project received additional support from the Canadian Agency for International  Development (CIDA/SOCODEVI) and oblast local authorities.

In total, during 6 months of project implementation in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, 2 agricultural service cooperatives in Prokrovske raion and 3 agricultural service cooperatives in Apostolove raion were supported and equipped.

Moreover, in the framework of the project Heifer-Ukraine is planning to provide 55 families – cooperatives members with highly productive purebred heifers. Later 55 more families will receive female offspring by means of POG. This will help to improve the quality of the herd in the village and as a result increase milk yield and quality.

In addition, thanks to the joint efforts of all the partners, villagers will receive bucket-milkers, micro-credits for households and mini-farms development, equipment for milk collection and cooling centers, help in improving public pastures, fodder procurement equipment and consultations.

The event was visited by the Head of Oblast Council Yevhen Udod, Acting Head of the Department of Agroindustrial Complex of Dnipropetrovsk oblast Vadym Udovytskyi, Heifer-Ukraine President Viktor Teres, Danone-Ukraine representatives Andrii Mashyna and Volodymyr Honorovskyi and other guests from raion and oblast.

«Our main goal is not only to increase the volume of milk received from the villagers, but also to give them a chance to live better life during the project implementation period and when the project is over. All of the partners (Heifer-Ukraine, Danone-Ukraine, Canadian Agency for International Development CIDA/SOCODEVI and local authorities of Dnipropetrovsk oblast) will continue cooperation and extend funding of the milk communities in Dnipropetrovsk oblast. This coming December we are planning to open one more major project and already in October to sign a Memorandum of cooperation with oblast authorities and self-government, which will become another page of the successful partnership and cooperation in Dnipropetrovsk region”, - mentioned Viktor Teres, Heifer-Ukraine President.

 At the end of the ceremony best milk suppliers received new milk cans as a present. Moreover, children of Andriivka community received mugs with the logo of the cooperative for the best drawings about a cow. We hope sincerely that thanks to the project these people will have more reasons to be happy every day!

Indicating the origin-linked quality food products – is comparatively new concept for Ukraine, which includes certification of regional quality food products (such as “hutsul brynza”) that by its qualities and characteristics closely connected to the natural conditions and cultural traditions of the origin area.

25-26 August 2011 a national seminar “Potential Origin-Linked Quality Food Products and Their Demand in Ukraine” was conducted in the premises of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine. The seminar was held on the join initiative of Heifer-Ukraine, Ministry of Agrarian Policy and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

This event became a final stage of the pilot project “Marketing Research of Potential Origin-Linked Quality food Products and Their Demand in Ukraine” which was implemented by the Heifer-Ukraine experts and was aimed at presenting results of the project, discussing the opportunities and priorities of wider introducing of GI in Ukraine, and developing common vision on the future activities to develop GI certification of food, including the opportunities in launching a potential technical support project with FAO.

“Ministry of Agrarian Policy fully support the results of the pilot project and recommendations developed by Heifer-Ukraine experts and is eager to continue cooperation with FAO, European Commission and other donors in this area. Geographical indication first of all opens wide opportunities for economical development of the rural areas by supporting small producers of traditional food and creates new jobs for the locals. Besides it helps to actively develop other linked spheres, such as tourism”, - stated Vice-Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, Olekdsandr Sen.

The seminar brought together representatives of various international institutions, such as Eleonora Dupoy and Emili Vandecandelaere, FAO, Markus Klingler, European Commission expert on agricultural and rural development, Pascal Bernardoni, REDD, and Tobias Eisenring, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland. All the invited experts highly appreciated a high quality of work performed in the framework of the project and were satisfied with the outcomes of the seminar.

Concluding the seminar all the parties expressed their willingness to cooperate in the framework of future initiatives and agreed that further development of geographical indication in Ukraine requires common actions of authorities and origin-linked food producers. Besides, the event helped to define the ways of developing new project of technical support as the next step in development of all the aspects of geographical indication of the food products.

Національний Бізнес-Рейтинг України оголосив переможців у номінації «Лідер галузі 2010». Сільськогосподарський обслуговуючий кооператив «Центральний» під керівництвом володара премії Золотий талант 2010 Володимира Омельченко буде нагороджено «Національним сертифікатом» за високий професіоналізм та видатні заслуги у галузі. Володимир Васильович давно зарекомендував себе як успішного та ініціативного лідера, мудрого менеджера та просто добру та щиру людину. Під керівництвом Омельченка СОК «Центральний» зміг розвинути свої потужності та допомогти своїм членам значно збільшити свої прибутки.

 Кооператив почав свою роботу в 2002 році. Майже не маючи ресурсів, та впевненості в успіху серед членів громади, Володимир Васильович не побоявся ризикнути та розпочав справу свого життя. Спершу був створений пункт штучного осіменіння, обладнання для якого довелось орендувати, та який надавав послуги громадам двох сіл. Пізніше кооператив почав надавати послуги із заготівлі сіна, так само орендуючи обладнання. Дохід від наданих послуг допоміг кооперативу закупити офісну техніку та приміщення під майстерню. У 2007 році Володимир Васильович зініціював написання проекту для МБО, проект був підтриманий МБО «Добробут громад»  та отримав назву «Добробут громад» «Розвиток скотарства у с.Дмитрівка, Донецької області». Селяни отримали нетелей, свиней, каліфорнійського черв’я та необхідне обладнання та необхідні тренінги.

 У 2009 році лідер кооперативу подав заявку до Державної цільової програми розвитку сільськогосподарських обслуговуючих кооперативів та отримав землеобробне обладнання, яке дозволило розширити спектр послуг кооперативу.

Лідер зміг об’єднати громаду, він також ініціював багаторазову передачу дару поросят, що значно пришвидшило процес передачі дару та допомогло задіяти ще більше членів громади. Володимир Васильович також організував розширення спектру послуг, що кооператив надає сусіднім громадам. В результаті такої діяльності кооператив спромігся значно підвищити свій дохід та розвинутись організаційно.

 За професіоналізм та ефективне управління Комітет Національного Бізне-Рейтингу вирішив нагородити Володими Омельченка золотою медаллю «За трудові заслуги».

 Офіціальна церемонія нагородження пройде 17 серпня 2011 року в Києві, у конгрес-холі Торгово-промислової палати України.

МБО «Добробут громад» вірить, що справжній професіоналізм, підтриманий необхідними ресурсами – є рецептом успішного проекту. Та ми надзвичайно раді надавати підтримку таким людям у наших проектах!

Національний Бізнес-Рейтинг – комплексна рейтингова програма, що визначає реальних лідерів економіки України виключно за офіційними даними Державної статистики. Вона стимулює підприємців, які дбають не лише про прибутковість власного бізнесу, але й роблять великий внесок у майбутнє нашої держави через наповнення державного бюджету, соціальні програми та відрахування до соціальних та пенсійного фондів, дбають про своїх співробітників, створюють нові робочі місця, розвивають нові технології, впроваджують інновації та формують новий тип економіки, що базується не на природних ресурсах, а на знаннях.

May 29^th,2011 was a day of charity of Kyivans and those who came to visit the capital. This day around 10 000 people gathered in the central square to join the annual charitable event “Race under Chestnuts”, run a 5 kilometer distance and support Centre of Cardiology and Cardio Surgery for Children.

Such event gives an opportunity to not only show your sport skills but also demonstrate the unity of your team, your organization’s devotion to charity and promote healthy way of life.

The team of dairy agricultural service cooperatives that are involved in Danone project was not the largest one but very friendly and united. Around 50 coop representatives came to Kyiv from different corners of Ukraine to join the race. Danone-Ukraine was represented by 450 participants. It was easily recognized by yellow t-shirts and flags waving around the square.

Race participants could invite their relatives, friends and children to join the team. “We enjoyed the Race extremely. It is really important that in Ukraine in spite of all the political battles people find time and strength to drive attention to charity. We came here with our children, they ran with us and as they said had much fun! Besides we had an opportunity to meet our colleagues from other cooperatives, share the news of the communities involved in the project”, - said Larysa Artemenko, Coordinator in Kherson region.

It is quite a task to whip up such a mob early Sunday morning in the main square, make them run 5 km and also pay for it. So thousands of racing people showed us that there a lot of indifferent people in our country and charity can unite all of them!

        A training for trainers “Development and management of agricultural cooperatives” took place on 6-18 December 2010 in Quebec, Canada. The training was organized by Socodevi, network of cooperatives for international development. 8 specialists from Ukraine, working on the topic of agricultural cooperation development in Ukraine and rural areas development were invited to take part in the event. Representatives of Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk Extension Services who take active part in the project “Improving the Competitiveness of the Dairy Sector in Ukraine” implementation had a chance to visit the training. Heifer-Ukraine was represented by Yurii Bakun, Program Manager.

Participants had an opportunity to share experience and learn the philosophy of agricultural cooperation. The theoretical course of the training included the following questions:

Participants of the training learnt the history of cooperative movement development in Canada, that starts in 19 century, as well as achievements and the role of cooperation in agricultural sector formation in Canada. The program also included practical component which consisted of sight visits to the operating cooperatives (Parisville, Agropur, Compton, Cantons, Federee), that provide such services as milk collection, mixed fodders, fertilizers, seeds and vet medicines provision for the members. Communication with local farmers – members of the cooperatives - whose activity is directly depended on the services provided by the cooperatives, was extremely helpful and interesting. It was interesting to discover that usually farmer in Canada is a member of several cooperatives of different specialization. Farmers showed examples of keeping and feeding animals, they demonstrated organization of their activities and methods of profitable management. Special attention was given to the methods of keeping cows productiveness on the level of 10-11 thousand liters of milk per year, milk farms operation, equipment for farms and specifics of fodders provision according to animals’ productivity. Profitable management is the basis of the development of family milk farms in Ukraine, therefore the experience of Canadian farmers in achieving high results could be replicated in Ukraine. The robotic milk farm designed for robotic feeding and milking of 60 heads raised a great interest among participants.  As for now the organization and maintenance of the farms in Canada is not perfect and it is still to be development, nevertheless this mechanism is considered effective and innovative, it enables optimization of administrative expenses, better monitoring  of animals’ health, improvement feeding system, open range grazing that corresponds with the requirements of the Good Agricultural Practices.

Participants had a chance to take part in the regional assembly of “Agropur” cooperative (the largest milk cooperative), that was dedicated to the annual summing-up of the results of cooperative activity and to election of the delegates for the general meeting. Visit to the milk quality testing  laboratory Valakta in Quebec gave a great food for thought to the participants. They learnt the logistic of milk samples selection, milk quality testing procedures and milk products quality monitoring by producer.

The training was conducted on a very high level, all the participants had a unique opportunity to receive new experience and trainer skills to conduct trainings and share experience among the leaders of rural communities, executive and legislative authorities in Ukraine, who are interested in the development of rural cooperation.

In December 2010, a new electric stove was delivered to Dmytrivka kindergarten by the winner of this year Golden Talent Award, Volodymyr Omelchenko – leader of Heifer-Ukraine project # 27-0848-01.

The new electric stove replaced an old one which had been operating for more than 25 years causing troubles for its users.

  That is why Mr. Omelchenko decided to use the Golden Talant Award money in order to help a local kindergarten.

More than 40 children benefited from this purchase. It means that now all of them will have better and regular meals. Moreover, the remaining funds were used to buy a new TV table and toys for the kids.

 Children’s parents and staff of the kindergarten expressed their deep gratitude for such a support. The presents they received are of a great need and used with care.

For information:

This year Golden Talent award was received by the leader of project # 27-0848-01 “Development of livestock breeding in Dmytrivka village, Donetsk oblast” Mr. Volodymyr Omelchenko.

Since 2002 Volodymyr Omelchenko has been the head of a model cooperative Tsentralnyi in Donetsk oblast that sets an example for other communities.

In late 2007 the coop became the recipient of Heifer funding, which granted them the purchase of heifers, pigs, California red worms and equipment. In 2009 the Volodymyr Omelchenko applied for participation in the State support program for cooperative development and won land cultivation equipment.

The leader managed to unite the community and bring people together. Locals enjoy participating in training activities and at every training they have a “full house”.

The leader initiated multiple POGs of piglets, which greatly speeded up the POG process and engaged more community members. The leader also organized expansion of services provided by the cooperative to neighboring communities. One of the biggest problems of the local community is that they are far from towns and cities. To help solve this problem the coop has organized a community veterinary pharmacy, which Omelchenko keeps stocked with the most necessary vet medicines and people can use what they need and repay later.

Business partnership of Heifer-Ukraine and Goulandris Natural History Museum - Greek Biotope / Wetland Centre (EKBY) which started in the framework of the Carpathian project, financed by the European Commission, was continued thanks to the support of the Agency of foreign economic affairs and cooperation affiliated with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece. This organization supported a joint Greek-Ukrainian project “Developing professional skills in sustainable tourism –Training of local actors” which is aimed at sharing Greek experience with Ukrainian families working in rural tourism.

The project agenda included two seminars involving Greek experts. First seminar-training of trainers was aimed at teaching the participants to conduct trainings on tourism for less informed and experienced members of the community. During the second seminar the participants had a chance to experience how the new trainers can use the gained skills in practice.

TOT was held on September 7th, 2010 in the picturesque foothills of the Carpathians in Shepilska recreation centre. The participants invited to the seminar were representing the Carpathian region, most of them are the members of current Heifer-Ukraine projects containing tourism component. A spacious conference hall, high quality equipment and what is most important highly qualified trainers created all the comfort conditions for the future trainers learning. Greek experts Stavros Yfantis, Maria Alebaki, Olga Iakovidou and Miltiadis Seferlis presented the stages of rural tourism development in Greece. Professors of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk universities Yurii Zinko and Pavlo Horishevskyi told about particularities of rural tourism in Ukraine. Yaroslava Sorokopud, Training Programs Coordinator, gave an interactive lesson on training methodologies and different forms of adult learning. The interactive part caused a great encouragement among the participants; especially the presentation of the role game method where they had a chance to show their acting talents.

The main directions of further Greek-Ukrainian cooperation developed by Greek experts and Heifer-Ukraine representatives were one of the key tasks of the seminars that were successfully fulfilled.

According to the project schedule the following training was conducted on 10th September 2010 in the territory of ethnographic museum “Khutir Savky” not far from Kyiv. It gathered representatives of all the regions of Ukraine, and gave them an opportunity to gain the skills and experience from both the highly qualified and the beginning trainers, to learn how important it is to save the ethnographic originality and traditions of the region in order to build successful and developed tourism business. Participants were invited into a big room in an ancient Ukrainian rural house where the training itself was held. According to the inscription graven on the ceiling the house was 151 years old. The houses of such kind are usually conserved in the museums and not allowed to be touched. Moreover, the lunch was cooked in a big ancient oven in the presence of the participants, and was served in earthenware bowls with wooden spoons. This was a bright example of creativity and originality in making rural business in any country.

The representatives of the Embassy of Greece to Ukraine Pericles Alexandrakis and Paulos Olrivsky invited to the seminar highly appreciated the work of both sides and the outcomes of the event. The new trainers Andriy Matusiak and Vasyl Pryndak talked about the necessity to save natural and cultural heritage as important features of rural tourism, explaining it from the marketing point of view.

These seminars symbolized the completion of a big project and beginning of the wide range of new initiatives at the same time. It was the time to present what was achieved and what is still to be done in the area of rural tourism. Active discussions and questions of the participants showed a great interest to the topic and an encouragement to develop this sphere in Ukraine. It means that no matter what difficulties and challenges we have, Ukrainian people never stop developing and reaching new heights in what they are doing.

The article below was published by the leading information agency in Ukraine, UNIAN.

http://economics.unian.net/rus/detail/50792

The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency is a Kiev-based Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business, financial and social information, as well as popular photo reporting service. Founded March 1993, UNIAN is now used by major newspapers, TV-channels, and radio stations as one of the main information sources. A partial list of clients includes: Reuters; Associated Press; ITAR-TASS; BBC; Voice of America; Coca Cola; Philip Morris; Minolta.

DANONE INVESTS IN 20 MILK COOPERATIVES IN UKRAINE

Danone-Ukraine together with Heifer-Ukraine are planning to invest 1 million Euro to 20 agricultural service cooperatives in Kherson, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhya oblasts and in Crimea in 2010-2011. 4 cooperatives were selected in Kherson oblast. It was announced at today’s press-conference in Kherson by Jean-Christophe Lauge, Director on Social Innovations of Danone-Ukraine.

“Establishment of the cooperatives with the aim to collect milk, supported by Danone-Ukraine, is the first project of such level, financed by “Danone Ecofund”. We would need Heifer-Ukraine support only in the beginning”, - said J. C. Lauge.

According to Jean-Christophe the project is designed for 2 years. In 2010, 10 cooperatives will receive financing including 4 cooperatives in Kherson oblast. The rest of the cooperatives will receive support in 2011. Mr. Lauge also mentioned that Danone is considering possibility to invest 99 million Euro in 20 similar projects all over the world.

Danone is supporting cooperatives with the aim to create a closed circle of production, which will ensure raw milk quality control on every stage of production, from the pasture till the milk is delivered to the plant”, underlined Dario Marchetti, Director-General of Danone-Ukraine.

“Every cooperative will receive milk storing and testing equipment along with artificial insemination equipment. Besides, some of the project participants (250 families – members of the cooperative) will be provided with milking machines. In total, this project is designed to help over 1000 families, who will become the members of the cooperatives”, said Oksana Osadcha.

Additional information. Danone-France is a foodstuff producer. The sub-units of the Company are located in 120 countries in 5 continents. Danone owns 160 production centers. In 2009 sales of the company reached 15 billion Euro. Te stocks of Danone are quoted at Euronext Paris stock exchange.

Danone-Ukraine is one of the biggest dairy products producers in Ukraine.