A program to grow almonds will be launched in several regions of Ukraine

The Ukrainian Nut Association, in collaboration with its partners, has launched the “Almond Rhapsody of Ukraine” program, aimed at developing industrial almond cultivation. 

Thanks to changes to the state program supporting horticulture, grants for establishing almond orchards are now available in 16 regions of Ukraine.

Yudin noted that the program’s implementation became possible after eight years of research on modern almond varieties and the findings of the Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.

He also reported that the most promising varieties for Ukraine turned out to be self-fertile varieties of Spanish origin, which have already been entered into the State Register of Plant Varieties and are highly resistant to winter frosts and spring frosts.

Work on the project began in 2017 at the initiative of Maksym Sheiko, who was the first to bring seedlings of the Spanish variety “Soleto” to Ukraine for testing. An experimental plot was then established at the “Filbert” Scientific and Production Association in the Odesa region, where long-term research on the crop began.

Currently, the program includes a well-established technological framework for cultivating commercial orchards and the “Almond Orchards” base nursery. The seedlings are grown in Ukraine under a licensing agreement with the Spanish scientific institution CSIC.

The development of production infrastructure is also underway: under the leadership of Maksym Sheiko, the company is laying the groundwork for a future processing plant to process Ukrainian almonds.