On June, 7 there was a meeting with the Chairman of the Sheep Breeders Association of the Podstepnoe village (Tsiurupynsk district, Kherson region), a deputy of the village council, Mr. Nikolai Chayka, at the KCCI's Support Center for Projects of Regional Development (SCPRD).

Mr. Chayka informed the participants of the meeting about the urgent questions and problems that hinder the development of sheep breeding in individual households of the village, spoke about necessity of public support in the allocation of land for pasturing animals. According to him, the regional management should pay special attention to detached villages where livestock development may become an impulse to their revival.

The head of SCPRD Ms. Galina Ivanova stressed the necessity of individual households’ unification within the common project of village development, offered help in promoting such project and searching the investor. She informed about agreement with the USAID Agroinvest project management on granting the sheep breeding revival pilot program in 2 or 3 districts of the Kherson region.

Mr. Chayka drew the attention of the participants to the main problem – the allocation and rehabilitation of pasture land. Livestock on landless peasant farms cannot be revived, no matter how much money would be given. The state shall pay attention to small and individual farmers, to create conditions so that they could spend all their time on producing agricultural products rather than waste it on addressing their complaints to officials, on ineffectual correspondence and proving what is being obvious.

During the discussion the meeting participants talked about necessity of alliance, development of cooperation in the rural areas, reliance on leaders who can take over the organization of small rural cooperatives and are willing to defend the interests of small farmers. At the end of the meeting Mr. Chayka expressed the desire of Podstepnoe Sheep Breeders Association to join "The Golden Fleece of Tavriya”.