On March 19, 2024, Boris Shestopalov, founder of Volia Agri-food Park Vinnytsia and ideologist of the Volia Food Valley ecosystem, participated in the 10th Steering Committee meeting of the SS4AF partnership in Cologne.

Having joined as an associate member of this European organization at the end of 2023, our park plans to actively collaborate with other participants to support and develop Ukraine’s agri-food sector. We are proud that Volia Agri-food Park Vinnytsia has become the first representative from a non-EU country in this partnership.

At the meeting, Boris Shestopalov directed the participants’ focus towards the principal challenges confronting Ukraine’s agri-food sector and the potential for their resolution via the advancement of clustered agri-food parks. An important aspect of the presentation was discussing ways to unite sector participants’ efforts to create a single ecosystem capable of:

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• Facilitating information and knowledge exchange among participants;
• Implementing new knowledge, technologies, and innovations;
• Creating platforms for research and development of new products;
• Providing resources for professional development of sector employees and attracting young specialists;
• Supporting scientists and startups in the FoodTech field.

As part of these initiatives, plans for 2024 include hosting an Agri-food Boot Camp for FoodTech startups, a Startup Competition at New Food Summit 2024, and developing a concept for a FoodTech R&D centre on the premises of Volia Agri-food Park Vinnytsia.

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SS4AF (Sustainable Solutions for Agri-food) is a partnership that brings together over 40 organizations from 17 regions of Europe, aimed at building a sustainable future for the agri-food industry through digital transformation. The HIGHFIVE project, an initiative of the SS4AF partnership, aims to strengthen companies’ positions in the agri-food sector so they can thrive in global supply chains, ensuring high international competitiveness, overcoming market barriers and innovative challenges, as well as adapting to rapid digital and ecological transformations.