Participants

List of Participants

Visiting Seed Companies

Rapid advances in technology and climate challenges require Ukrainian farmers to adopt crop varieties with strong adaptive characteristics and consistent yields. To address these challenges, the AGRO Activity, funded by the U.S. Department of State, supports the development of regional centers for climate-oriented seed production. These centers conduct field trials of grain, oilseed, and legume varieties to evaluate their adaptability and performance under changing climate conditions.

The Regional Seed Centers (RSCs) will function as demonstration and partnership platforms, showcasing U.S.-bred varieties and seed technologies under Ukrainian agro-climatic conditions. They will facilitate introductions and market expansion with U.S. seed companies. They will also accelerate the adoption of high-performing U.S. varieties and hybrids in Ukraine.

• COMPANY MAIS, a scientific and production farming enterprise

50, Centralna St., Zaytseve 
Village, Dnipropetrovska 
Oblast, 52514, Ukraine
mais@maize.com.ua; https://mais-seeds.com/ 

Viktor Borysov, Head;
+380503618597
v.borysov@maize.com.ua 

Mykola Fedko, CEO
+380675416811
m.fedko@maize.com.ua 

COMPANY MAIS is the largest privately owned corn breeding enterprise in Ukraine. Its main breeding hub is located in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a region known for Ukraine's" Northern Steppe's arid climate. An additional breeding station in Ternopil Oblast focuses on developing corn hybrids adapted for cultivation in western Ukraine.

Founded in 1992, the company has more than 32 years of experience in the seed sector. Its core product line is hybrid corn seed. 

Total seed production area covers approximately 5,000 hectares across six oblasts of Ukraine, including owned and leased land, as well as contract seed production with partner farms. The company also runs winter-breeding nurseries in southern-hemisphere countries, including Chile and India, enabling faster breeding cycles.

COMPANY MAIS owns and operates three corn seed processing plants equipped with Westrup, Niklas, and Petkus machinery, with a combined annual capacity of 1.8 million planting units. The company has registered proprietary corn hybrids in several markets, including Ukraine (170 hybrids), the European Union (24 hybrids), Kazakhstan (5 hybrids), and Kyrgyzstan (3 hybrids).

Its genetic collection is certified using modern DNA identification methods, including annual SNP analysis conducted at Eurofins laboratories in the United States. Officially registered lines and hybrids are protected by patents.

Company MAIS exports seeds to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The company cooperates with international partners, exchanges genetic material, and tests selected samples through its global testing network. Company MAIS is a long-standing member of major international seed organizations, including ASTA, Euroseeds, ISF, and ISTA.

• BALKANY, a private farm

4 Promzona St., Sarata 
town, Odesa region, 
68252, Ukraine
office@balkany.com.ua; https://balkany.com.ua

Radoslav Zlatov, Head of Farm

Vitaliy Staryi, Deputy 
Head of Farm
+380 67 541 68 11;  vitaliystaryi.svm@gmail.com  

Balkany Farm was established in 1996 and has nearly 30 years of successful experience in crop production under the arid conditions of the Southern Steppe of Ukraine. The Farm is one of the leading agricultural producers in Odesa Oblast, combining large-scale commercial farming with advanced seed production and research activities.

The company grows major field crops, including winter wheat, spring barley, sunflower, rapeseed, and maize, on more than 20,000 hectares of agricultural land.

Seed production is a strategic part of the company's operations. Seed multiplication fields are located in Odesa and Vinnytsia oblasts, with annual production volumes reaching 4.2 thousand tons of certified seed.

The Farm holds a vast research program, establishing around 3,000 experimental plots annually at dedicated trial sites to assess the adaptability and performance of domestic and international varieties and hybrids. 

Balkany operates its own mobile seed processing plant and a modern agrochemical laboratory that meets international standards. The ISO-certified laboratory provides full quality control of seed material and soil parameters.

The company exports seed products to Moldova and continues to expand its international partnerships. Balkany also implements sustainable farming practices to reduce CO₂ emissions and participates in European programs focused on greenhouse gas reduction.

• AGROKRAY LLC, a family-owned farm

1 Kozatska St., Krasyliv 
City, Khmelnytsk Oblast, 
31000, Ukraine
food@biligrain.com;  https://biligrain.com/en/

Oleg Biliavets, Director
o.biliavets@biligrain.com;  
+380 67 382 54 11

Vasyl Kosiuk, Chief 
Agronomist
v.kosiuk@biligrain.com 
+380 67 382 48 85

Agrokray LLC is a Ukrainian agricultural company founded in 2004 by the Biliavets family— father Petro and son Oleh. Operating in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the company is a successful example of a family-owned, vertically integrated agribusiness focused on producing high-quality, high-value-added agricultural products.

Agrokray manages approximately 3,200 hectares of leased agricultural land. Since 2020, the company has been developing its seed production operations, with seed crops currently covering approximately 1,100 hectares.

The company's core activities in seed production include:

• Production of seeds of cereals, oilseeds, and pulses from both Ukrainian and international breeding, as well as niche crops such as poppy, milk thistle, beans, flax, amaranth, and spelled.
• Seed processing and conditioning at a modern seed plant equipped with grain-cleaning equipment from leading global manufacturers (Westrup, Buhler Industries, Willy Niklas GMBH) and a Vallenda packaging line. The plant has a processing capacity of up to 240 metric tons per day. Agrokray also operates its own quality control laboratory, providing comprehensive seed analysis.
• Export of seed products to Hungary (mustard and phacelia seeds), Austria (milk thistle), and Italy (beans).

Agrokray actively advances innovation in cooperation with the Odesa Plant Breeding and Genetics Institute and one of Ukraine's leading breeders, Oleksandr Rybalka, a full member of the New York Academy of Sciences. The company has introduced innovative, health-focused food products to the consumer market, including colored grains rich in biologically active pigments, such as anthocyanins and pheomelanins, similar to those found in blueberries and other fruits. Agrokray's breeding achievements include black-grain spelled and wheat, black-grain hull-less barley, and winter white-grain extra-soft wheat developed specifically for confectionery use.

• Volia LLC

Village Bubnivska Slobidka, 
Cherkasy Oblast, 19750, Ukraine

+380 67 441 24 76
office@balkany.com.ua; 
https://wolia.tilda.ws/ 

Yuriy Tkachenko, Co-Founder
+380 67 404 54 88

Ruslan Domantovych, Director
+380 95 256 79 08; 
domantovych.ruslan@outlook.com 

Volya LLC, founded in 1992, operates in Cherkasy Oblast. The company manages 3,200 hectares, of which about 700 hectares are dedicated to vegetable production. Vegetable farming is a strategic priority for Volya, and the company holds official seed producer status.

The vegetable production structure includes potatoes (50%), onions (22%), carrots (10%), beets (10%), watermelon (3%0, and garlic (1%). Volya plans to expand production of tomatoes, cabbage, pumpkins, and culinary herbs. In addition, the company grows grain and industrial crops, including winter wheat, corn, sunflowers, and soybeans.

Volya built modern vegetable storage facilities with a total capacity exceeding 13,000 tons, equipped with climate control, sorting, processing, and packaging systems. The company operates a fleet of modern machinery (e.g., John Deere, Fendt, Horsch, Grimme) and grain storage, cleaning, and drying complexes. In 2025, Volya commissioned a vegetable pre-sale processing facility, including a specialized potato processing line. The company cooperates with 21 local agricultural producers under contract farming arrangements.

Volya also invested significantly in irrigation infrastructure. Approximately 1,000 hectares are irrigated, including 15% under drip irrigation and 85% under sprinkler irrigation, primarily using U.S.-manufactured valley irrigation systems.

Volya plans to expand storage and processing capacities, increase irrigated acreage, and establish a field research and demonstration site to test vegetable varieties under real production conditions. 

Organizations supporting Ukraine's Regional Seed Centers

• The Ukrainian Agricultural Council (UAC), a public union

3 Ivan Honta St., Uman, Cherkasy region, 
20300, Ukraine
gk@uacouncil.org
https://uacouncil.org/en

Andrii Dykun, Union President

Lyubomyr Dykun, Advisor to the Union 
President
+380 96 770 67 47; ld@dykun.com.ua

Oleksandr Valebnyi, Seed Sector 
Development Project Coordinator
+380 67 292 06 31; avalebniy@gmail.com

Oleg Khekalo, Seed Production Expert 
Consultant
+380 50 469 24 35
olegkhekalo@gmail.com

UAC is a voluntary, non-governmental association established on April 17, 2014. The organization unites more than 1,300 agricultural enterprises across Ukraine, collectively cultivating over 4 million hectares of land.

UAC operates through a comprehensive organizational structure that includes a regional development office, an analytical center, a legal and advisory department, an agricultural cooperative, a company that provides corporate and property rights protection services, and an extensive network of regional branches and local offices across all oblasts.

The mission of the UAC is to support the development and modernization of Ukraine's agricultural sector by promoting best farming practices and the adoption of modern technologies. The organization engages agribusinesses through information and outreach activities, professional training programs, and scientific and methodological support for crop variety and hybrid selection, as well as the application of climate-adaptive cultivation technologies. Under an AGRO-supported seed development program, UAC facilitates farmers' access to advanced breeding achievements in the seed sector and supports the promotion and commercialization of U.S.-bred hybrids and varieties on the Ukrainian market.

The UAC team has extensive experience in implementing projects in partnership with international organizations across a wide range of focus areas. These initiatives aim to strengthen agribusiness capacity, improve profitability, and provide high-quality advisory, consulting, and legal support to agricultural producers.

• Seed Association of Ukraine

14 Vasylkovskaya St., Kyiv, 03040, Ukraine
seeds.ukraine.2010@gmail.com
https://ukrseeds.org.ua/en

Siuzana Grygorenko, Executive Director
suzanagrigorenko@gmail.com 
+380 98 002 59 25

The Seed Association of Ukraine is an independent professional organization that unites leading domestic and international seed and breeding companies that operate in Ukraine. As a non-government, non-profit organization, the Seed Association represents the unified position of seed market stakeholders. Its mission is to ensure consistency, effectiveness, and transparency in seed market regulation, promote fair competition, and protect intellectual property rights in plant breeding.

The Seed Association brings together 40 Ukrainian and international companies whose combined market share exceeds 80% of Ukraine's seed market. One of its key objectives is to facilitate partnerships between Ukrainian and international NGOs in the seed sector and to promote cooperation between Ukraine and international organizations involved in seed production and breeding. 

To advance the interests of Ukraine's seed sector at the international level, the Association became a member of the European Seed Association (Euroseeds) in 2011 and joined the International Seed Federation (ISF) in 2012. It also cooperates with the Spanish National Association of Plant Breeders (ANOVE), the German Plant Breeders Association (BDP), the French Federation of Maize and Sorghum Seed Producers (FNPSMS), and other international partners.

The Seed Association promotes advanced plant breeding solutions and helps expand export opportunities for Ukrainian-produced seed.

• Ukrainian Institute for Plant Variety Examination

15 Generala Rodymtseva St., Kyiv, 03041, 
Ukraine
sops@sops.gov.ua
https://sops.gov.ua/en/

Serhii Melnyk, Director
melnyksi@gmail.com 
+380 98 668 50 20

The Ukrainian Institute for Plant Variety Examination is the country's central research institution responsible for conducting comprehensive field and laboratory studies as part of the scientific and technical evaluation of plant varieties. The Institute's mandate is to assess the suitability of plant varieties for dissemination in Ukraine and to support the granting of plant breeders' rights as objects of intellectual property.

The Institute provides methodological guidance for the scientific and technical evaluation of all types of plant varieties, both under state commission and upon request from private-sector entities of various ownerships. The Institute also participates in the development of draft legislation in the field of plant variety protection, as well as in the preparation of methodologies for conducting variety qualification examinations, pre- and post-registration variety testing, plot-based (soil) variety control, laboratory variety control, and other types of state scientific and technical examinations of plant varieties.

The Institute conducts qualification examination field and laboratory trials across 20 oblasts, ensuring coverage of diverse agroclimatic zones. Internationally, the Institute focuses on integration into the global and European plant variety protection systems and on accessing best practices for the organization and implementation of plant variety testing and evaluation.