AgriAcademy, a professional online education platform for Ukrainian agribusiness, has added two new free courses for farmers, created by experts from the Astarta-Kyiv agro-industrial holding. In June 2025, new training modules dedicated to the biological characteristics of corn and corn cultivation technologies became available on the AgriAcademy platform.
Course 1: “Corn. Biological characteristics of the crop”
The aim of the course is to provide farmers with a systematic understanding of:
Course 2: “Corn. Cultivation technology”
The aim of the course is to develop practical knowledge of agricultural technologies:
Both courses were developed by Pavlo Perkhalo, an experienced agronomist with over 10 years of practice at Astarta. Methodologist Svitlana Semenyuk and interactive materials designer Olga Veiler also contributed to the development of the courses.
Like all educational products on AgriAcademy, the new courses are free, available online at any time, and include a certificate upon successful completion.
As a reminder, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Astarta-Kyiv agricultural holding signed a partnership agreement in 2024 to develop distance learning for Ukrainian farmers.
The partnership provides for the creation of 25 online courses on the cultivation, storage, and processing of field crops.
In addition to the new training modules, previously created courses are also available on the platform: “Sunflower. Biological characteristics” and “Sunflower. Cultivation technology”.
AgriAcademy – training for Ukrainian farmers that is changing the industry
AgriAcademy is a free online training platform for agricultural workers and students of agricultural educational institutions, launched by the EBRD in December 2022 as part of its food security support program in Ukraine.
Its goal is to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainable development of agriculture, which has suffered significant losses due to the war.
Today, the platform offers 25 online courses — 300 hours of practical training in agronomy, management, technology, processing, storage, and more. Each course includes a knowledge test and certification for participants.
The platform is created and managed (including course development, study tours, etc.) with the support and funding of the EBRD, as well as:
We invite farmers to register on the platform and take practical courses at the link: https://agriacademy.org/courses-catalog
Astarta-Kyiv is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding in Ukraine, a public European company that conducts socially responsible business and produces food products for global markets.
The company was founded in 1993 by Viktor Ivanchyk, who remains its majority owner and CEO. Since 2006, Astarta’s shares have been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Main activities:
A new sectoral agreement with the Trade Union of Construction and Building Materials Industry Workers of Ukraine provides for a twofold increase in the minimum wage for construction workers, Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba has announced.
He noted that on Saturday in Borodianka, a new sectoral agreement was signed with the Trade Union of Construction and Building Materials Industry Workers of Ukraine. “This is a key document that defines the conditions for people who work every day on the construction of restoration facilities,” Kuleba said.
The agreement is valid for 2025–2027 and is binding for enterprises, institutions, and organizations working in the field of construction and production of building materials. “Collective agreements must be concluded or updated on its basis,” the deputy prime minister explained.
Kuleba listed the key provisions of the agreement:
– A new guaranteed tariff rate for workers has been set at 401% of the minimum subsistence level. This means that the minimum wage is now 12,142 hryvnia. The previous level was 231%, or 6,995 hryvnia.
– The agreement also includes provisions on occupational safety, qualification requirements, the organization of production processes, and legal protection for employees. Specific tools are provided for the legalization of employment, vocational training, and monitoring of the fulfillment of contractual obligations.
“A team from the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, trade unions, contractors, construction material manufacturers, representatives of industry associations, experts, and the scientific community participated in the preparation of the document,” Kuleba said.
He is convinced that this position confirms our shared responsibility to the people. “To those who are rebuilding schools, hospitals, housing, and critical infrastructure with their own hands,” he emphasized.
The Deputy Prime Minister also added that the construction industry is currently one of the key sectors in the recovery process. “It determines the pace, scale, and quality of work being done across the country. And today, it is important to lay not only the infrastructure foundation, but also fair rules for those working on the sites,” he said.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) fined the Scientific and Production Enterprise Razrabotka. Energetika. Machine Building“ and LLC ”Scientific and Production Association “System Energy” for 5 million 232,633 thousand UAH for anti-competitive actions during tenders for the purchase of diesel fuel by the state-owned specialized economic enterprise (SSEE) “Lesa Ukrainy” in 2023.
According to the AMCU website, in 2023, SSE Lesy Ukrainy held a tender for the purchase of diesel fuel with an expected value of more than UAH 178 million, in which, in particular, NPP Razrabotka. Energetika. Mashinostroenie and NPO Sistema Energo took part.
“By its decision of July 3, 2025, the AMCU established that during their participation in the tender, NPP ”Development. Energy. Machine Building“ and NPO ”System Energy“ did not act independently, but coordinated their behavior with the aim of eliminating competition, which is a violation of the Law ”On
Protection of Economic Competition,” the committee stated.
At the same time, as noted by the AMCU, according to the Law “On Public Procurement,” the basis for refusal to participate in the procurement procedure is the fact that the business entity (participant) has been held liable for anti-competitive concerted actions related to the distortion of tender results within the last three years.
According to YouControl, the sole founder and ultimate beneficiary of NPP Razrabotka. Energetika. Mashinostroenie LLC, registered on October 19, 2023, in Kyiv with a charter capital of UAH 30,000, is Mykhailo Storozhuk with a 100% share.
In turn, the sole founder of NPO Sistema Energo LLC, with a charter capital of 10,000, is Alina Goncharuk, who also holds a 100% stake.
Individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) who work in Group 3 of the single tax system and do not have employees can now submit quarterly tax returns via “Diyu,” where the program will automatically calculate taxes and pull previous figures, according to Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science, and Technology and Head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov.
“We are currently working on a comprehensive overhaul of the tax payment service in Diya to make the process even more convenient. Stay tuned for updates,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram on Friday.
He clarified that the declaration is submitted by sole proprietors in the third group who are not VAT payers.
Fedorov reminded that the single tax for such persons is 5% of income, the military levy is 1% of income, and the unified social tax is 22% of the minimum wage. The military levy will be calculated automatically based on income.
The deadline for filing the declaration is August 11.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea has launched a new Economic Innovation Partnership Program (EIPP) with Ukraine for the next four years, for which the Korean government will allocate $10 million, according to a statement on the website of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine on Friday.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the initiative provides for strategic consulting, project development, and pre-project research aimed at long-term economic cooperation between the two countries. It is expected that up to 25 initiatives may be implemented under this program.
During a meeting with First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksiy Sobolev, representatives of the delegation from the Korea Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) outlined which projects would be prioritized.
The Ministry of Economy, in turn, noted that it sees great prospects for partnership with KIND under the new program, both in the public and private sectors, in particular with regard to possible involvement in financing priority initiatives for the government within the framework of the Unified Project Portfolio of Public Investments, as well as private projects presented in the investment guide.
“We hope that KIND will participate in the technical preparation of projects, as we do within the PPF and PPU with the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Another promising area is privatization, consulting assistance, and attracting investors,” the ministry’s press service quoted Sobolev as saying.
The Ministry of Economy reported that KIND is ready to join the master planning of industrial parks in Ukraine and work on reducing risks for investors. The parties discussed the possibility of involving the Republic of Korea in cooperation with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and export credit agencies to expand military risk insurance mechanisms.
The parties agreed to coordinate work in each area of cooperation and to sign a memorandum of understanding that would allow work to begin on selecting projects for financing and implementation.
The Korean state corporation KIND has been implementing projects to rebuild Ukraine for more than two years, including a transport master plan for the Kyiv region, a plan to reconstruct and rebuild Ukrainian airports, railway renovation, and other projects involving cities and municipalities.
The death toll from flooding in south-central Texas has risen to 52, including 15 children, according to EFE.
“Fifty-two people have died in flooding in south-central Texas, including 15 children,” the report said.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Lait Jr. said hundreds of rescue workers remain in flooded areas and search and rescue efforts are still ongoing.
He asked residents to send information about missing loved ones and their last known location.
