Potatoes are a staple vegetable in Ukraine, and for decades the country has been among the world’s largest potato producers, accounting for around 15% of the total European harvest. However, maintaining this position is no easy task: the sector is increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, so the success of future harvests will directly depend on how quickly producers adopt modern technologies, the use of high-quality seed stock, the development of plant breeding, and scientific research.

In Volyn Oblast, in northwestern Ukraine, a response to these challenges was to launch the “Volyn Smart Agro Cluster – Economic Development of Rural Areas” initiative. This is the region’s first agricultural cluster, the establishment of which was supported by the Swedish Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.

Apart from the establishment of the cluster, which brings together farmers, academics, communities in Volyn Oblast, and the local authorities into a single economic community, the initiative made it possible to:

1. Establish innovative infrastructure – a greenhouse and a modernised potato health lab – at Lutsk National Technical University (LNTU);

2. Create conditions enabling farmers to access high-quality, virus-free planting material;

3. Create conditions to increase the yield of potato varieties;

4. Develop a cluster development model that can be scaled up in other communities across Ukraine.

This offers concrete economic prospects for potato-growers in Volyn: Access to healthy seed potatoes will enable farmers to upgrade their varieties, increase yields, and reduce their dependence on expensive imported seed – one of the costs that reduces the sector’s profitability.

On 14 August, the region hosted the initiative’s closing event – Field Day 2026. Over 90 participants were briefed on the initiative’s results, and the attendees discussed market trends, new potato planting technologies, and the prospects for seed production. 

The participants also visited farmland where 46 modern and promising potato varieties of Ukrainian, German and French origin are currently being grown. There, they received practical advice from plant breeders, researchers and growers, and exchanged experiences.

In addition, during the event, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between LNTU, the “Volyn Potato” Agricultural Co-operative, the Institute of Potato Science of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, and the NGO “Project Management Centre" – the organisers of the Field Day and partners who implemented the “Volyn Smart Agro Cluster” initiative. The signing of the memorandum confirmed that their cooperation will not end with the project: the document formalises their continued collaboration in the fields of scientific research, the implementation of innovations, the development of the agro-cluster, services for farmers, and value chains.

The initiative was implemented under the “Empowered Partnership for Sustainable Recovery” (EPSR) project, which is funded by the Government of Sweden via the Swedish Development Agency Sida, and implemented by UNDP in Ukraine.