INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL CONFERENCE “EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS OF UKRAINE AS A GUARANTEE OF ENSURING FOOD SECURITY IN THE CONDITIONS OF POST-WAR RECOVERY” within the Erasmus+ project (14–15.05.2026, online)
On 14–15 May 2026, within the framework of the EU Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Module project “NEWAGRO” (101127828 — NEWAGRO — ERASMUS-JMO-2023-HEI-TCH-RSCH), the International Scientific and Practical Conference “European integration and sustainable development of rural areas of Ukraine as a guarantee of ensuring food security in the conditions of post-war recovery” was took place online.
The conference aimed to address the current challenges facing the agricultural sector and rural development in Ukraine in the context of European integration and post-war recovery, as well as to present the results achieved within the NEWAGRO project. Particular attention was devoted to issues of food security, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), organic production, agritourism development, implementation of European best practices, and the promotion of cooperation within local communities.
The conference was organized with the participation of representatives of Zaporizhzhia National University, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the National Association of Agricultural Advisory Services of Ukraine, the State Enterprise “Center of State Land Cadastre”, the German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD), the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, the P.I. Prokopovych Institute of Beekeeping, the State Research Institute of Informatization and Economic Modeling, the Academy of Rural Development, the Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine, Open Marketing Consulting Agency, the NGO “Council of Women Farmers”, the “YaroslavKo” Charitable Foundation, as well as numerous Ukrainian and international educational and research institutions, business representatives, and partner organizations. In total, the event brought together more than 200 participants from various regions of Ukraine and abroad, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by Oleksandr Bondar, First Vice-Rector of Zaporizhzhia National University; Svitlana Shytikova, Erasmus+ Project Coordinator at the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine; Valentyna Helman, Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Zaporizhzhia National University, Doctor of Economics, Professor; Alla Cherep, Head of the Department of Finance, Banking, Insurance and Stock Market, Doctor of Economics, Professor; Artur Boiko, Head of the Department for External Relations and Foreign Economic Activity of the Regional State Administration; and Olena Sopina, Deputy Head of the Zaporizhzhia District State Administration.
The first conference day was opened by the NEWAGRO Project Coordinator, Doctor of Economics, Professor Svitlana Kushnir, who delivered a keynote report entitled “The Laboratory of the Future: How the NEWAGRO Project Is Transforming the Vision of Rural Areas and Agribusiness”. She shared the project’s achievements, implemented activities, and future development ideas.
Issues related to partnership development, community support, the role of agricultural advisory services, and opportunities for small-scale producers on Ukraine’s path toward EU integration were highlighted by Andrii Kuts, Vice-President of the Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, PhD in Law; Roman Korinets, Director of the National Association of Agricultural Advisory Services of Ukraine and Deputy Chairman of the Agribusiness Entrepreneurs Committee under the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, PhD in Economics; and Olga Trofimtseva, Head of the German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD) project.
Olha Budeichuk, expert of the “Rural Development: Land Relations” platform of the All-Ukrainian Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities, and Anna Hurenko, business trainer at Open Marketing Consulting Agency, certified management consultant, member of the Ukrainian Marketing Association, PhD, focused on land resources management and the marketing transformation of agribusiness.
Issues concerning amendments to the Civil Code and comparative legal analysis of financing mechanisms in Ukraine and the EU were discussed by Olha Zastavska, Head of the NGO “Council of Women Farmers”, and Mykyta Panchenko, Senior Lawyer at the “Rokada” Charitable Foundation and fourth-year PhD student at Zaporizhzhia National University.
Practical aspects of organic production and public perception of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were presented by Taras Sus, Doctor of Economics, Professor of the Department of Management and Marketing at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, and Halyna Studinska, Doctor of Economics, Senior Researcher and Chief Research Fellow at the State Research Institute of Informatization and Economic Modeling.
The participants also shared their experience in family entrepreneurship and agricultural cooperation. Among the speakers were entrepreneur Iryna Bondarenko; Tetiana Senchuk, researcher at the P.I. Prokopovych Institute of Beekeeping, Chairperson of the agricultural cooperative “Svii do Svoho”, co-owner of the “Simeina Pasika Senchuk” trademark, and lecturer at Hadyach Agrarian College; and Nataliia Olshanska, Director and co-owner of the family company “Famberry”.
A separate conference session was devoted to agritourism. Presentations were delivered by Natalia Vengerska, Deputy Chairperson of the Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, participant of the NEWAGRO project (2023–2025), and lecturer in Business and Economics at the Liverpool John Moores University International Study Centre; and Tetiana Kalna-Dubiniuk, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Honored Research and Teaching Specialist of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, expert advisor, member of the European Society of Extension Education (ESEE), the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE), and the Global Agritourism Network (GAN), as well as Visiting Professor at Iowa State University, Ames, USA.
The issues of tax management digitalization and the implementation of modern agricultural technologies in Ukraine’s agricultural sector were discussed by Volodymyr Tsap, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, advisor to the Agrarian Union NGO, and Associate Professor at Tavria State Agrotechnological University, together with Zhanna Torianyk, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of the Department of Management, Accounting and Business Communications at the Karazin Banking Institute of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University.
Examples of multifunctional rural development and non-traditional agribusiness opportunities were presented by Mariia Plotnikova, Associate Professor of the Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Tourism at Polissia State University, PhD in Economics, and Olena Boika, Associate Professor of the Department of Genetics and Plant Resources at Zaporizhzhia National University, PhD in Biology.
The second conference day, dedicated to youth and student initiatives, was opened by Tetiana Batrakova, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of the Department of Finance, Banking, Insurance and Stock Market at Zaporizhzhia National University. In her speech, she emphasized the importance of working with young people to shape a new generation of responsible leaders focused on energy-efficient technologies, environmental sustainability, import substitution, and strengthening domestic production capacities and labor resources.
Students and young researchers from educational institutions in Zaporizhzhia, other Ukrainian regions, and foreign countries presented projects aimed at community development, environmental solutions, agricultural innovations, infrastructure modernization, and the creation of new business models for rural areas in Ukraine.
Among the initiatives presented were projects by students of the Zaporizhzhia Specialized Boarding School “Cossack Lyceum”: Valeriia Shkuro with the project “Reconstruction of the Shyroke Community: Business and Development”; Maryna Lushchikova with “Eco-Hub in Ruchaivka”; and Anastasiia Lysenko with “PetNova Hub – A Wave of Care Warming Every Paw, Wing, and Tail”.
Zaporizhzhia National University was represented by several student teams, including Andrii Smetanko and Viktor Sychov with the project “Community Grain”; Kostiantyn Ternovskyi and Diana Zabielina with the successfully implemented project “Paradise Honey: A Small Apiary with Its Own Story”; Illia Postoienko and Polina Volkova with the project “Creation of the Innovative AquaSich Complex”; Alina Varlamova with “Analysis of the Post-War Development Plan for the Shyroke Rural Territorial Community”; Maksym Puhachov with “Snail Farm”; Krystyna Kovalova, Tetiana Chepurna, Bohdan Skrynnik, and Valeriia Bezsmertna with “Taste of the Sun – From Nature to the Bowl”; Tetiana Chepurna with the project “Native Vozdvyzhenka”; and Mariia Bryk from the Engineering Educational and Scientific Institute named after Yu.M. Potebnia with the project “Fruit Processing in Huliaipole”.
Several teams from Leonid Yuzkov Khmelnytskyi University of Management and Law also participated in the conference. Tetiana Samaricheva, Serhii Popel, Alla Krushynska, Olha Hrytsenko, and Anastasiia Khaidari presented the project “Environmentally Oriented Greenhouse Production as a Driver of Sustainable Development of the Khmelnytskyi Urban Territorial Community”. Kristina Marusii, Viktoriia Kysil, Maksym Kozhukhar, Dmytro Koriuhin, Ihor Litvak, and Nazar Olivinskyi presented the project “Smart Specialization: From an Agrarian to an Innovative Community” based on the Teofipol Territorial Community. Olha Mashtaliar introduced the project “Lifie – Natural Symphony”.
An especially relevant and innovative project was presented by the team from Dmytro Motornyi Tavria State Agrotechnological University, including Yuliia Matsola, Anna Fesenko, Vladyslava Yevtushenko, Lesia Khodoba, Yuliia Tkach, Oleksandr Kostiakov, and Anastasiia Ustymenko.
Students of Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University — Larysa Filipova, Lesia Karpuk, Oksana Titarenko, and Andrii Pavlichenko — presented the project “Strategic Planning of the NEWAGRO Model for the GREEN Project”. Diana Dmitriieva, a student of Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman and participant in one of the NEWAGRO courses, presented the project “Innovative Business Models for Rural Development in the Context of Food Security for the Uman Community” and compared the experiences of Belgium and Ukraine regarding support mechanisms for rural businesses.
Darina Tsopa, Chief Specialist of the Education Department of the Shyroke Community and Career Guidance Coordinator involved in the ULEAD with Europe and DECIDE projects, expressed great admiration for the students’ ideas and the work accomplished by the NEWAGRO project team.
Based on the voting results, the best projects were selected, and their developers will receive valuable prizes.
At the closing session, project participants delivered final remarks, while Project Coordinator Svitlana Kushnir thanked all students, speakers, and participants. She emphasized that the project “European Integration and Sustainable Development of Rural Areas in Ukraine in the Context of Post-War Recovery and Food Security” has become not only a platform for education and professional development, but also an opportunity to establish meaningful friendships and partnerships with inspiring individuals from across Ukraine and abroad who are committed to food security, rural recovery, SME support, European integration, and the role of individuals — especially women — in these processes.
The conference served as an important platform for experience exchange among academia, government authorities, business representatives, and youth, while also reaffirming the relevance of implementing European approaches to the sustainable development of rural areas in Ukraine during the post-war recovery period.
The sincere feedback received by the NEWAGRO project team following both the conference and the project implementation demonstrates the practical value of the initiative, strong interest in the issues discussed, and the importance of integrating science, practice, advisory support, and international experience into the development strategy for rural areas in Ukraine. The organizers were especially pleased to receive invitations for further cooperation and partnership-building with public organizations and governmental institutions in Ukraine.
Details about the event and speakers’ presentations can be found at the following links:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYc7qBZjSAe/?igsh=MWRoODZsOG11c3I2Nw==
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D5jZtx9vZ/
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18Ti7iTYJe/
Prepared using the materials of the Zaporizhzhia National University.
Additionally:
Information about the project “European integration and sustainable development of rural areas of Ukraine as a guarantee of ensuring food security in the conditions of post-war recovery” (NEWAGRO)
The purpose of the project: raising public awareness of EU food policy and bringing Ukraine’s food security system in line with European standards by promoting, supporting and prioritising the restoration and development of rural areas.
The relevance of the project is determined, on the one hand, by the key issue of food security, which always occupies a leading position in the overall national security of each country, as it is a prerequisite for the social and economic stability of the state. On the other hand, the need to restore agriculture in view of the consequences of the full-scale war in Ukraine, to help cope with the consequences of destruction and loss of business, to adapt to the new realities of today, to support and prioritise small farming, to attract investment in the newest sectors of the rural economy. This will serve as a prerequisite for the restoration of agricultural areas, the return and employment of the population.
Contact person: Coordinator Svitlana Kushnir
Website: https://newagro.znu.edu.ua/