On June 19th, the city of Lviv, Ukraine, hosted the all-Ukrainian forum “Intensive vegetable growing: profiting from greenhouses,” marking the first large-scale specialized event in Ukraine dedicated to greenhouse vegetable growing technologies. The publication “Gardening in Ukrainian” and the agricultural portal AgroTimes.ua organized the event, which attracted around 150 participants, including numerous newcomers to the greenhouse industry.

Participants received market analytics on greenhouse vegetables, information on programs supporting greenhouse construction, and advice on setting up modern greenhouses, choosing seed material, protecting produce, ensuring quality, and marketing their harvest. The first presentation focused on state and non-state grant programs supporting the greenhouse business.

Expert Tetiana Hetman emphasized the importance of greenhouses for import substitution. Analyst Yevhen Kuzin from the EastFruit project provided a market overview, highlighting the significance of technology in the greenhouse business. Technologies help mitigate climate change, reduce energy costs, and improve product quality. Globally, the demand for greenhouse vegetables is rising due to population growth and decreasing agricultural land.

In Ukraine, there is the potential to build greenhouses using locally produced materials, including frames, automation systems, and irrigation. Practical presentations from experienced greenhouse operators were particularly beneficial for newcomers. Volodymyr Rozhko, owner of Green Elevation LLC, shared his experience in creating a greenhouse business plan with minimal costs. Vasyl Shcherbanyuk from Vegetable Base No. 1 LLC discussed automating greenhouse operations, where processes occur almost automatically, and identified carrots and sweet potatoes as the most profitable crops.

Representatives from partner companies also made significant contributions. Andriy Serbinov from Syngenta presented innovations and prospects for the greenhouse industry, Serhiy Vdovenko from BTU-Center discussed organic technologies and biopreparations, and Ivan Timoshchuk from Begrow shared insights on hydroponic vegetable cultivation.

The forum received positive feedback, and participants expressed a desire for it to become a regular event.

Source: agrotimes.ua