The Pyriatyn community has become an example of how local ideas can lead to systemic change, with the right support. The visit of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Ukraine in July 2025 was the concluding event of a three-year project that began in 2022 as part of the EU’s ‘Mayors for Economic Growth’ (M4EG) initiative.

Achievements:

Local economy

• a meat processing workshop was opened
• a bakery was modernised
• new technologies were introduced in livestock farming, processing, and logistics
• sixty-seven greenhouses were built, a small-scale mechanisation service was launched that now supports more than 300 households annually
• a shared grain storage service using polymer sleeves was introduced, enabling the preservation of over 10,000 tonnes of produce
• the area for growing berries, vegetables, and fruit trees was expanded to 56 hectares
• irrigation systems are now covering over 15 per cent of the land

Entrepreneurship and youth

• six coworking spaces in school locations were established
• a range of educational and production activities were conducted for over 11,000 children and young people
• courses in cooking, financial literacy, and economics were introduced
• culinary and sewing coworking spaces, as well as the biomass briquettes production facility function

 Education and digital transformation

• as part of the Ukraine Facility, the New Ukrainian School reform initiative was supported
• six rural schools were provided with laptops to enhance digital learning
• seven schools each received interactive touchscreen smartboards kits
• Berezova Rudka School now hosts a photo-video studio
• Pyriatyn lyceum was upgraded with a digital physics lab and new equipment for chemistry and biology

Social cohesion and IDPs

• over 10,000 IDPs were provided with shelter in the community
• four thousand IDPs have chosen to settle permanently
• integrated approaches to support, social adaptation, inclusion in local processes

‘We received not only equipment or support — we gained a new logic of action, a new vision, and new leaders. We are now integrating all of this into our local policies. Pyriatyn is already a different community,’ said Mykhailo Melnychenko, Deputy Head of the Pyriatyn community.

‘Despite the war, the Pyriatyn community has demonstrated how cohesion, education, and business support can drive development even in difficult times. This is a good example of how EU–local community partnerships in Ukraine can work,’ said Henrik Huitfeldt, Head of the Public Finance, Business Support and Social Policies Section at the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

The project was implemented in 2022–2025

The title: ‘Development of Pyriatyn community value chains in dairy and berry clusters to support youth and rural residents economic empowerment and enable local green growth’
The EU grant support: over EUR 870,000
Partners: the Pyriatyn Community and the NGO ‘Civil Society Institute’
The project’s achievements are already being integrated into:

• the Social and Economic Development Programme for 2025–2027
• the Comprehensive Community Recovery Programme
• the new Development Strategy

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The material is based on the publication of the EU Delegation to Ukraine