Faced with mounting challenges at home, Ukrainian farmers have come to Suffolk to seek fresh ideas from local farmers in boosting crop production.
The delegation of Ukrainian farm owners, managers and agronomists visited Claydon, an agricultural machinery manufacturer in Suffolk, to learn more about new approaches to crop establishment.
The group, representing agribusinesses farming close to one million hectares across Ukraine—including individual companies managing up to 350,000 hectares—spent four days touring the factory and visiting local farms.
Among the visitors was Volodymyr Husiev, of Technotorg LLC, Claydon’s sole distributor in Ukraine. Technotorg is Ukraine’s largest agricultural machinery sales company, with around 25,000 customers spread across 23 regions.
Due to ongoing conflict and travel restrictions, this trip marked the first visit to the UK for Claydon’s National Territory Manager for Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Anatoliy Penzin, who has worked remotely since his appointment in 2020.
Mr Penzin, who speaks Ukrainian, Russian, and English, collaborates with Technotorg to promote new crop establishment techniques among Ukrainian farmers.
Simon Revell, export sales manager at Claydon, noted that organising the visit took several months because of Ukraine’s travel restrictions.
"The onerous travel restrictions which apply in Ukraine meant that this visit took months to organise but was highly successful," he said.
"Farmers and supply chain businesses there face significant challenges but are keen to learn more about new developments in crop establishment and production technologies."
Since Claydon began selling machinery in Ukraine in 2017, an increasing number of farmers there have adopted its approach, finding it helps improve the security and sustainability of their operations.
Mr Revell added: "Like their counterparts throughout the world, they are also having to deal with the agronomic and fiscal impact of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and more stringent environmental legislation, together with greater economic pressures due to rising input costs and static commodity prices.”
Ukraine’s temperate climate features year-round rainfall and sufficient sunshine, with average temperatures ranging from about 7 to 9°C annually.
Summers tend to be warm, between 18 and 22°C, while winters hover between -4.8 and 2°C. Rainfall is heaviest in June and July.
