In 2022, Lviv Oblast allocated almost UAH 7.5 million to support micro and small enterprises in the form of subsidies for cows. In total, support was distributed among 109 recipients, including 32 registered family farms.
One of such active micro-producers in the form of a family farm is the Voytovych family from the village of Queen of the Brodiv community of the Zolochiv district.
In 2020, Andriy and Nina Voytovych were among the first to create a family farm in the dairy industry. 39 heads of cattle are kept in their own household, of which 32 are cows.
Over the course of three years, the number of cows was almost doubled (from 17 to 32 cows), with the prospect of growing to 50 cows.
“Thanks to the regional program, we received 75,000 UAH of financial support in the form of a subsidy for keeping 30 cows. Subsidy funds were immediately invested in harvesting hay and silage for feeding animals in the winter-stall period,” said the head of the family farm, Mrs. Nina.
Also, in addition to last year’s subsidy, farmers twice received humanitarian aid with seeds of corn, wheat and perennial herbs. For their part, they initiated the registration of three family farms by providing consultations and explanations to individual peasant farms in the surrounding villages regarding the feasibility of conducting production in the legal field and involving current support programs in the development of their own business.
“We have 18 hectares of agricultural land under cultivation, on which, in addition to growing fodder crops for animal husbandry, we grow vegetables on an area of 5 hectares. In 2022, we received approval for the implementation of the “Own business” grant project under the “eRobota for the development of one’s own business” program, Mr. Andrii added.
As noted in the department of agro-industrial development of the regional state administration, with the aim of stabilizing the decline in the number of cattle and developing the cattle breeding industry, last year the regional budget provided financial support in the form of a subsidy for keeping cows of all productivity areas in the amount of 2,500 hryvnias per one head In general, a subsidy from the regional budget was provided for the maintenance of 3,000 cows of all areas of productivity.
“In 2022, Lviv oblast farms that keep cows were lucky twice: in the first half of the year they received a subsidy from the regional budget, and in the second half from the state. The total amount of subsidies from these two sources in 2022 for enterprises of the Lviv Oblast amounted to UAH 33.7 million. We will financially support the small animal husbandry sector in 2023 as well,” said Tetyana Getman, director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development of the Lviv OVA.
For the year 2023, with the aim of increasing the number of cows in farms of all organizational and legal forms by reproduction and stimulating the purchase of breeding or high-yielding cows within the approved Comprehensive Program for the Support and Development of Agriculture in the Lviv Region for the years 2021-2025, to support livestock producers subsidy for increasing the number of cows.