Small-holder farmers in Ukraine face many challenges, primarily limited access to land and financial capital. These challenges prevent farmers from improving their incomes, and even a small investment in these small-holder farms could have huge rewards for farmers and their families.
Almost a year ago, ISCA-AIDC team members travelled to Ukraine and visited Chalice Canada’s sponsor sites in the communities of Lviv and Ternopil. The purpose was to visit with farm families to discuss how and where Chalice could support farmers to improve family incomes. Since returning to Canada, ISCA has been busy preparing a business plan for what we identified as the best chance for success and the largest benefit for a broad segment of the farm community – a dairy processing facility.
The business plan, which consists of two distinct phases, would see small dairy producers sending milk to a local processing plant. The plant would provide benefits through increased returns to the farm families, but also through local employment at the plant itself. ISCA is eager to assist Chalice with the implementation of this exciting project. An update on next steps is coming in April. Check back to hear more about this project, and how it is progressing!
Blog Entry written by ISCA-AIDC Chair, Lloyd Dalziel