November, 29, 2013, meeting of the Coordination and Guiding Board was held in the Institute of Animal Breeding in the Steppe Southern Regions “Askania Nova” - National scientific selection genetic center on sheep-breeding. The representatives of the Kherson CCI received an invitation to attend the meeting.

The shepherd scientists of scientific departments, research stations and research farms gathered in order to report about the implementation of plans of scientific projects in 2013. The meeting was opened by the head of Coordination and Guiding Board, director of “Askania Nova ” Institute Mr. Yuriy Vdovychenko.

Among the participants there was Academician-Secretary of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Ukraine Mr. Ostap Zhukorsky. Kherson CCI, as the initiator of the sheep-breeding revival project  “Zolote Runo Tavriji”, also received  the invitation to join the meeting

By participating in the discussions the Chamber representatives got the opportunity to evaluate the conditions of sheep-breeding science at the present day, to get acquainted with the scientists’ opinions concerning number of problems such as defining of main trends in sheep-breeding which are to meet the today’s requirements of business.

The issue of breeding new local meat producing species gave rise to great interest and hot discussions. Successful research surveys and achievements of the scientists from Kharkov and Dnipropetrovsk were also up for debate. At the same time the most experienced scientist of the Askania-Nova Institute Ms. Paraskovia Polska encouraged young colleagues not to enjoy the first success much but to pay their attention to the fact that the stability of breed which meets all the scientific demands requires years of hard work. Having marked the achievements in selective genetic activity aimed at grading-up, when the main objective is to improve the meat producing qualities of sheep and multiple brood, the scientists noticed that these researches are based upon the adapted Askanian breed. Therefore they supported their Kherson colleagues in their concerns regarding preservation of the genetic nucleus of the breed. The reviewers of the scientific reports were the scientists of the Askania-Nova Institute. The critical remarks of younger reviewers were not less strict or reasonable than those of their more experienced colleagues.

In the end of the meeting Galina Ivanova, head of the Support Centre for Regional Development Projects, was invited to make a speech. She informed about the areas of cooperation between Kherson CCI and the shepherd-scientists of Kherson. She emphasized that the Chamber considers its mission in bringing the business and science together, in promoting the innovative scientific researches in order to commercialize them. Thus having consolidated interests of business and scientific circles, we could move towards the revival of such an area of the national economy as sheep-breeding.

In addition, she stressed the fact of absence of interest towards the sheep-breeding development in Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, as the representatives of the Ministry had not appeared at any meetings or conferences discussing the problem areas and ways of the crisis recovery in the mentioned sphere. The representatives of the government prefer to attend celebrations and exhibitions devoted to shepherds’ achievements when their communication results only in congratulations and sharing other people’s success. It was emphasized that there was a necessity to pass from the short-term agrarian projects to more complicated and long-term ones directed to support and revival of strategically important sphere of sheep-breeding.