Speakers - AFHWC2025

Abstract

Abstract: 
Ukraine is no longer just a grain state. Our fields feed millions from Africa to Asia, but today we are transforming agriculture into an agri-food-tech economy. And this transformation is not only about Ukraine – it is about the future of global food security. Even under missile attacks, Ukrainian farmers keep harvesting. This resilience is the foundation for a sector that is ready to recover, modernise, and grow with international partners.

At the national level, three strategic priorities define Ukraine’s agricultural recovery:
• Demining and post-demining activities,
• Irrigation and modernisation of water systems,
• Support for frontline regions (grants, concessional loans, matching grants).

For farmers, investors, and agriholdings, the agenda is much broader, but one element stands out: digitalisation. Ukraine demonstrates strength in state-driven digital transformation, with electronic services widely embraced by agricultural producers. The real challenge lies in integrating more advanced technologies, such as AI and enterprise systems, where costs, skills, and trust remain significant barriers to adoption. Yet even in this space, some of the most promising breakthroughs are already emerging, for example, in the use of AI for demining and land restoration.
• AI & Demining: AI is not only about detecting mines, but about rapidly identifying safe land that can be returned to agricultural use. Agricultural technologies themselves are becoming drivers of innovation in demining.
• Digital Services: The State Agrarian Registry integrates multiple services, from support programs to export facilitation, linked with other state systems. Legislatively established, it serves as a trusted source of high-quality enterprise data, encouraging compliance with European standards of quality and production transparency. By introducing unified rules for access to both state and international support, it ensures equal conditions for producers and strengthens accountability in the use of funds.
• E-trading & Land Auctions: Platforms such as Prozorro electronic auctions ensure transparency, compliance, and equal access for investors. The business community widely trusts them and has established them as a flagship of Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms.
• Land Monitoring: Digital tools now cover ownership, lease status, and productivity, providing reliable data for managing land banks,  the sector’s most valuable asset.
• E-government: From e-courts and e-documents to Diia, Ukraine’s flagship app, where you can do everything from filing taxes to booking mobilisation exemptions for your workers… and yes, even getting married or divorced, all from your smartphone. That’s digital government at its boldest.

This digital environment is not incidental but supported by strong state policy, legal frameworks, and close cooperation with developers. In the UN E-Government Development Index, Ukraine ranked 5th globally in the Online Services Index 2024, earning recognition as a resilient and forward-looking digital leader.

War is devastating it destroys assets, and far worse, it takes lives. But Ukraine stands resilient. This transformation opens concrete opportunities for investors, from digital tools and logistics to climate-smart irrigation systems. The choice is yours: to see Ukraine not only as a country in recovery, but as your partner in building the agri-food-tech future.