AgroTech Sectoral Development Strategy—Part of WINWIN 2030—Developed Jointly with ITU

 

The AgroTech development strategy has been presented as part of 2030 Ukrainian Global Innovation Strategy (WINWIN), the development and approval of which was welcomed by ITU. The sectoral AgroTech development strategy was developed by an expert group under the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine together with the IT Ukraine Association, supported by the Good Governance Fund “Innovative Ecosystem,” financed by UK International Development.

 

AgroTech is a promising direction that will help Ukraine integrate technological solutions into strategically important sectors of the economy: agriculture, food industry, bioenergy and logistics.

 

Ukraine has significant potential in the AgroTech field due to the unique combination of agricultural resources and advanced technologies. The use of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and autonomous systems will significantly increase the efficiency of the agricultural sector. Our goal is to create conditions for scaling innovations and attracting investments into this strategically important area. AgroTech is not just digitalisation, but also new opportunities for economic growth. All sectoral strategies are interconnected and we see this as a great advantage,

— stated Valeriya Ionan, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration.

 

The AgroTech sectoral strategy is an analysis of the sector and opportunities along with a vision for the potential development of the direction, which will help digitise, automate and improve the efficiency of agriculture and the food industry. The strategy suggests considering the implementation of digital solutions, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotic systems for optimising production and resources.

 

Some key opportunities provided by AgroTech:

• Strengthening positions in the global market The development of technologies will enable a shift from the export of raw materials to the production of innovative products with high value.
• Overcoming the shortage of personnel Automation and robotics will compensate for the shortage of human resources and ensure production stability.
• Land restoration Drones for monitoring and robotic systems will help in demining and increasing the productivity of agricultural land.
• Climate resilience The use of modern technologies and digital water resource management will reduce climate impact and increase yield.
• Modernising livestock farming The use of AgroTech technologies for producing plant-based alternatives to meat products.

 

70% of Ukraine’s AgroTech is focused on external markets. This creates enormous opportunities for international cooperation and allows Ukrainian agrotechnology companies to offer their solutions on a global level. Moreover, innovative solutions provided by the IT industry to the agricultural sector are already increasing its competitiveness. Therefore, creating a strategy for the development of AgroTech in Ukraine is a comprehensive strengthening of the IT industry’s positions in both domestic and foreign markets, 

— said Maria Shevchuk, Executive Director of the IT Ukraine Association.

 

To realise these opportunities, it is essential to launch a series of innovative projects that will help test new technologies in practice and integrate them into the real economy sector. To implement the sectoral strategy, it is necessary to create an appropriate ecosystem to support technological innovations in agriculture, which includes:

• Developing a regulatory framework for autonomous machinery and innovative food technologies;
• Investments in infrastructure and R&D — creating research centres and supporting technology parks;
• Financial support for startups and businesses — grants, tax benefits, and public-private partnership programmes;
• Engaging international partners to integrate into global agro-food value chains.

 

Among potential pilot projects:

1. WINWIN AgroTech Centre of Excellence Implementing advanced technologies, supporting startups and research for modernising the agricultural and food sectors, attracting investments and partnerships.
2. Building AgroTech parks Test zones for testing new agrotechnologies that will help scale successful solutions through cooperation between developers and farmers.
3. Deep processing of agricultural raw materials Developing the domestic sales market, stabilising prices, and attracting investments.

 

The Digital Innovation Development Strategy until 2030 was created at the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Office of Effective Regulation BRDO, with support from the USAID “Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure of Ukraine” Project. The sectoral strategies were structured with the support of the Good Governance Fund “Innovative Ecosystem,” funded by UK International Development.