The winners of the “Gardens for Victory” grant competition have been announced

The organisers of the grant competition “Gardens for Victory”, together with the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation, have selected the beneficiaries who will receive funding to implement ideas to support local food security and agricultural development. The winners are eight communities:

1. Bilozirska, Cherkasy region.
2. Bobrytska, Cherkasy region
3. Krasnopilska, Vinnytsia region.
4. Myronivska, Kyiv region.
5. Novopokrovska, Dnipropetrovska oblast.
6. Pyriatyn district, Poltava region.
7. Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia region.
8. Chyhyryn district of Cherkasy region.

The competition started in September. It was organised by the Gardens for Victory initiative of the SURGe project, funded by the Canadian goernment and the MHP-Gromadi Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. Nearly 80 communities applied to participate in the competition, all of which had ideas for improving their food supply situation. The winning communities will receive funding of up to UAH 250 thousand.

“We see a lot of activity among the communities in this competition. This shows that they fully understand their responsibility for their own food security and development. And not only do they understand, but they are also looking for ways to achieve their goals. In times of war, this issue is particularly acute: both the provision of food for the population of communities and financial assistance from the outside. That is why we and our partners are happy to create opportunities for those who want to develop in spite of everything,” said Ihor Vishtak, Director of the Agrarian Development Department of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

“Over the past year, communities have faced various food security problems, from shortages of certain food products to lack of access to them for different categories of the population. Therefore, it is important for us that communities not only understand the risks associated with food security, but also develop action plans to prevent and overcome the risks.” says Tetiana Lebukhorska, Head of Food Security at SURGe.

“Food security in communities is one of the priority areas of our work. It’s not so much about providing ready-made solutions or direct assistance as it is about teaching people how to identify food needs and meet them. That is why we are pleased to see that so many communities have applied for the competition and completed the training courses.” says Tetiana Volochai, director of MHP-Gromadi.

As part of the competition, interested communities took part in educational webinars where experts talked about the strategy, development, and implementation of a comprehensive food security plan. They were also trained in project management and grant applications.

Communities will be able to use the grant funds for land cultivation equipment – the necessary means for growing, storing, and processing agricultural products – introducing the latest technologies and other measures to improve food security.

The project implementation period is from two to 12 months.