Breaking barriers to Agriculture in Ukraine
|
|
Summary
MBA Volunteer Alasdair Maughan is assessing agriculture regulations in Ukraine to improve the effectiveness and minimize the burden of laws, making it easier for farming businesses to prosper.
 read updates from the field
|
Received $25 from 1 donation from people like:
|
More Information About this Project
Project Needs and Beneficiaries
The project requires funds to access farmers and processors on the front line throughout the country. It also requires access to input from international experts from emerging economies who have implemented regulatory reforms to benefit their countries' development. Beneficiaries are the farmers and producers (over 15,000,000 in Ukraine), and the entire country, as GDP grows. Agriculture is the industry in Ukraine with the most unexploited potential.
Activities
Alasdair travels Ukraine to speak with farmers and processors, using their input alongside research and analysis to create policy. He talks with regional and national governments to promote this policy on behalf of small and medium-sized businesses.
Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $25
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $5,675
Total Funding Goal: $5,700
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
Resources
Why this Project is Important
Potential Long Term Impact
The long-term impacts include a regulatory climate that promotes agriculture entrepreneurship and innovation, especially in the rural areas. This transparency makes Ukraine more credible as an exporter, which promotes economic development.
Project Message
Ukraine, the largest breakaway Soviet Republic, is set for huge growth once a reformed legal climate is in place. We need to give it a small push and over 20,000,000 people can be lifted from poverty.
- Alasdair Maughan, MBAs Without Borders' Volunteer in Ukraine
When this Project was Updated
Last Updated
This project was last updated on November 21, 2007.
Date Added to GlobalGiving
This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on November 20, 2007.
Latest Update from the Field
Update from the Field - 8 weeks in
By Alasdair Maughan - MBAs Without Borders Volunteer, November 21, 2007 04:26 PM
A full 8 weeks into Kyiv and my project, I still find myself in the process of getting acquainted with the city and the organization.
IFC has offices in three cities in Ukraine: Mykolayiv, Vinnitsya and the country office in Kyiv. In our country office, we host both the investment side and the technical assistance advisory services side of IFC, a total of 40-60 people, depending on the stage of projects.
Despite English being the official working language (and most staff being able to speak it), Russian and Ukrainian is spoken throughout the office. The office is a mix of local hires and international staff from Central Asian Countries, Russia, USA, UK and even 3 from Canada.
My team’s work area is completely open, and I can see and speak with any member without leaving my chair. The environment is supportive and ocllegial, but they expect a solid work product that meets IFC’s strict standards. I am still just getting the feel of exactly what that means as I meet my first report deadline.
The Kyiv office is perched in the Podil District, a block from the bank of the Dnipro river that runs from the top of Ukraine down into the Black Sea. Podil is an older area of Kyiv which was first populated by merchants and traders who sailed in through the Dnipro and would sell their stuff in this area at the bottom of the hills. Our building, however, is quite new and features all of the amenities of a Western office. The one drawback is fairly regular power outages which have caught me (and my documents) by surprise more than once.
When people ask, I describe Kyiv as a beautiful city
but old. Though the history of this city is all around, monuments and buildings are noticeably in poor condition. Roads and infrastructure built in the Soviet times are also aging. Finally, awkward city planning, especially in the older areas, has caused major traffic congestion from early morning, through to late evening. The metro system is efficient, but similarly busy throughout the day.
Despite a hectic work schedule, I have had the opportunity to visit the famed gold-domed orthodox churches which combine slavic and turkish influences, Independence Square, site of the Orange Revolution in 2004, and a few shows at the National Opera. With work, we made a trip down to our Mykolayiv office, where I was exposed to Ukrainian life outside of Kyiv. Gone were the Black Mercedes and SUVs, the new fahsion malls and exquisite restaurants. Instead, I exposed to a country of small villages with farmers selling their own produce on the side of the highway.
In the coming weeks, we plan to conduct research in Vinnitsya and perhaps Lviv, where I will have the opportunity to visit, and speak with, more of Ukraine.
Read 1 more "Updates from the Field" |
Comment on this update
 Subscribe to "Updates from the Field" by E-Mail
How Else You Can Help
Spread the Word on your Profile, Blog, or Website
Put a widget for this project on your profile, blog or website to turn your friends into givers. Using our widget, it's quick and easy to add this widget to your profile or blog!
|
giving cart
create an account
login
my profile
logout
Ukraine
Economic Development
Printer Friendly
Add to Favorite Projects
Add to Registry
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Spread the Word
Tag on del.icio.us
Add to Facebook
Digg It!
Add to Google Bookmarks
Add to Yahoo! Bookmarks
Reddit