Ireland is to provide €450,000 in funding to a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) project supporting potato farming in Ukraine. The project will transport 500 tonnes of certified seed potatoes to Ukraine, which will be distributed to 10,000 vulnerable small-holder farmers in rural areas, according to a report by The Journal.
FAO Ukraine will distribute these seed potatoes to 10,000 highly vulnerable small-holder farmers in rural areas at the frontline in eastern and southern Ukraine. Each farmer will receive 50kg of seed.
Announcing the funding support, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said: “Ireland and Ukraine share many similarities, particularly the huge importance of agriculture has both economical and socially. “I am delighted that my Department’s international cooperation funding can support this project to support small-holder farmers in potato production.”
The seed potatoes have been grown in the Netherlands and France by growers for Irish company IPM Potato Ltd. The seed potato varieties have been cultivated especially for agro-ecological conditions in Ukraine.
Source: The Journal. Read the full story here
Photo: Seed potato distribution in Dnipropetrovska oblast, Ukraine. Credit and courtesy UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
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