At one of the largest agricultural events in the country, the Agro Ukraine Summit in Kyiv, the AgriAcademy.org platform was presented, providing free access to professional education for farmers from all over Ukraine. The initiative was presented at three industry conferences during the summit and attracted considerable interest from industry associations, producers, and processors, according to SEEDS.
“Today’s agribusiness requires quick decisions, relevant practical knowledge, and continuous professional development. That is why I would like to draw your attention to one of the most promising initiatives in the field of professional education for agribusiness – AgriAcademy.org. This is a unique educational platform that brings together the agribusiness community of Ukraine and provides modern, practical knowledge in the form of free online courses developed by the best experts from Ukraine and around the world.
It is designed for professionals in the agricultural sector: business owners, managers, farmers, agronomists, veterinarians, and anyone interested in practical knowledge and increasing profitability,” emphasized Rodion Rybchynsky, Chairman of the Ukrainian Flour Millers Association and UN FAO grain market expert, during a panel discussion on “The transformation of grain processing in the context of European integration.”
“The platform already offers 23 free online courses in Ukrainian, developed with the support of the EBRD. Each course has been created in collaboration with leading Ukrainian and international experts, with a focus on practical benefits for business,” said Rodion Rybchynskyi.
AgriAcademy was also presented at the conferences ‘Futurology of Grain Storage’ and ‘Effective Livestock and Poultry Farming,’ which allowed it to reach a wide audience. Each conference was attended by 70 to 150 participants, and a QR code with direct access to AgriAcademy was displayed on the screen every 15 minutes in the Summit exhibition area.
Among the speakers who presented the platform was Oleksandra Bondarska, Vice President of the Ukrainian Pig Breeders Association.
“AgriAcademy offers over 300 hours of training. After completing the course, participants receive an official certificate. It is a tool for the real development of agricultural entrepreneurs,” said Oleksandra Bondarska, speaking to an audience of livestock and poultry farmers.
“The platform offers a course entitled African swine fever – everything a business needs to know. The course covers all aspects of African swine fever (ASF) that need to be known, from risk factors and main routes of transmission to effective prevention and response measures. Participants will learn how the disease develops on an infected farm (experience of affected enterprises), how to reduce risks for their farm, and protocols for action in case of suspicion and after the outbreak has been eliminated,” the expert added.
Oleksandra also advised producers to take the Basics of Pig Health course available on the platform. The course covers issues of animal health support and control throughout the entire production cycle in terms of technological and age groups of pigs and types of diseases, and also includes information on quarantine and the development of herd health monitoring and vaccination programs.
The AgriAcademy platform was also presented by Sviatoslav Tkachenko, member of the board of the Ukrainian Elevator Association, during the conference “Futurology of Grain Storage” to an audience of grain producers, processors, and exporters.
“AgriAcademy offers practical courses in agronomy, irrigation, processing, technology, berry growing, animal husbandry, crop production, veterinary medicine, and ecology:https://agriacademy.org/courses-catalog/
This spring, two courses from specialists at the Astarta-Kyiv agro-industrial holding have been added: Sunflower. Growing Technology and Sunflower. Biological Characteristics of the Crop,” said Sviatoslav Tkachenko.
You can join the free training now at AgriAcademy.org
The courses are designed with the practical needs of the industry in mind and are taught in Ukrainian, ensuring convenience, accessibility, and high learning efficiency. Grow your business with AgriAcademy, your reliable partner in innovation and efficiency improvement!
Source: https://www.seeds.org.ua/
Agroholding Astarta will pay dividends for 2024 in the amount of EUR0.5 per share for a total of EUR12.5 million, which is in line with the previous two years.
The decision was made at the company’s annual general meeting on June 12, according to a statement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The shareholders instructed the board of directors, which proposed the dividends, to determine the payment dates.
In addition, the meeting approved a new version of the company’s remuneration policy, which provides for a new long-term incentive (LTI) mechanism for the remuneration of executive management through the allocation or transfer of company shares to a special trust to be established by the board of directors for the benefit of such persons.
Astarta’s shareholders also approved the issue of new shares in the amount of up to 5% of its authorized capital without preemptive rights, provided that they are distributed solely for the purpose of implementing an employee incentive program, and delegated to the board of directors the authority to issue such shares.
According to information on the stock exchange, the largest shareholders of Astarta are currently Albacon Ventures Ltd, CEO Viktor Ivanchik – 41.4%, which held 53.3% of the votes at the meeting, as well as companies controlled by Fairfax Financial Holdings: Odyssey Reinsurance Company – 7.67%, HWIC Global Equity Fund – 7.29%, and United States Fire Insurance Company – 6.93%.
In addition, the company reported that on June 12, Ivanchik’s Albacon purchased another 5.28 thousand shares on the stock exchange at an average price of PLN59.97 ($14.04 at the current exchange rate) and increased its stake to 10 million 364.50 thousand shares.
As reported, Astarta paid EUR12.155 million in dividends for the first time in June 2021 based on its 2020 results, in the same amount as now – EUR0.5 per share. In the war-torn year of 2022, the company refused to pay dividends, but then paid them in 2023 and 2024.
Astarta shares fell by 1.2% on Friday, June 13, to PLN58.4 per share, while about a year ago, when the dividend decision was approved, the price was PLN29.25 (about EUR6.81) per share, and a year earlier – PLN32.80 (about EUR7.28) per share.
Agro-industrial holding Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, increased its net profit by 34.5% to EUR83.25 million in 2024, while its consolidated revenue decreased by 1.1% to EUR612.15 million.
The family of Astarta CEO Viktor Ivanchik owned about 41.48% of the shares at the beginning of this year, having bought 1.22% last year. Fairfax Financial Holdings is also a major shareholder with 29.91%, and another 2.12% of the shares belong to the company itself and were previously bought back.
On June 18-19, 2025, Kyiv will host InnoTechEnergy, an exhibition and forum for innovative solutions in thermal and alternative energy, according to Energoreforma.
As noted in the event announcement, the exhibition will showcase the latest equipment, technologies, and solutions for modernizing heating systems, decentralized generation, renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and digital transformation in the energy sector.
The exhibition will feature the Future Energy Forum, an innovation forum on the future of thermal and alternative energy.
The forum will serve as a platform for discussing key issues and finding effective solutions to today’s challenges.
The main focus will be on the following key areas:
The event organizers plan to bring together Ukrainian and international companies, representatives of municipalities, communities, relevant ministries, experts, and businesses to demonstrate and discuss the challenges and prospects for the development of key trends in the energy sector.
Registration for exhibition events: https://ite.ticketforevent.com/
For questions regarding participation in events and cooperation:
+38(067) 37-57-637
+38(095) 37-57-637
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Greenland on Sunday, where he expressed European solidarity and support for the Danish autonomous territory, which US President Donald Trump had previously stated his intention to take control of, France24 reports.
“It is important to show that Denmark and Europe are committed to this territory, which has very high strategic interests and whose territorial integrity must be respected,” Macron said.
The French president made the visit together with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on their way to the G7 summit in Canada on June 15-17. They were met at Nuuk airport by Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederiksen.
Macron criticized Trump’s intention to take control of the island. “I don’t think that’s something you do to allies,” the French president said.
According to the publication, the visit will also be an opportunity to discuss how to further strengthen relations between the EU and Greenland when it comes to economic development, the transition to low-carbon energy, and critical minerals.
Later on Sunday, Macron, Frederiksen, and Nielsen held a meeting on a Danish helicopter carrier, demonstrating France’s concern about security issues in the region.
Comparative analysis of the economies of Israel and Iran
| Indicator | Iran | Israel |
| GDP | ~$400 billion | ~$540 billion |
| GDP per capita | ~$4 400 | ~$54 200 |
| Public debt/GDP | ~18 % | ~67 % |
| Military expenditures | 2.5% of GDP ($10 billion) | 5% of GDP ($27 billion) |
| Currency/gold reserves | ~$7.7 billion | ~$76 billion |
| Innovation indicators | ~1 patent/million people | ~74 patents/million people, developed hi-tech |
Israel’s strikes on Iran’s gas infrastructure will push up gas prices in Europe, which means they may also rise in Ukraine, according to Andriy Kobolev, former head of the board of Naftogaz Ukraine.
“Israel has begun to destroy Iran’s gas infrastructure with drones… For those wondering what to do about gas purchases for this winter: this will have a significant impact on the balance (and therefore the price) of natural gas in Europe,” he wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
Kobolev explained that Iran had been supplying gas to Turkey, which resold it to the EU, but now, due to Israeli strikes, Iranian gas is at risk of being cut off, and the Turks will not be able to replace it with Russian gas because both gas pipelines are almost fully loaded.
“Therefore, Turkey will be forced to either reduce gas supplies to the EU or increase the share of more expensive LNG. In any case, this will push prices up in the EU. And if Israel continues to attack the Iranian gas sector, part of Russian gas may be redirected to Iran,” the former head of Naftogaz concluded, advising to prepare for such an impact on prices.
As reported, Ukraine was forced to return to significant gas imports from Europe due to Russian strikes on gas infrastructure.
According to the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator (OGTSU), 501 million cubic meters were imported in May (54% via Hungary, 33% via Poland, and 12% via Slovakia), or 16.1 million cubic meters per day. At the same time, former OGTSU board chairman Serhiy Makogon believes that Ukraine needs to import approximately 870 million cubic meters per month, or 29 million cubic meters per day, to achieve last year’s planned gas storage targets in underground gas storage facilities (UGS).
