As part of the BRIDGES initiative "Voice of Ukrainian Agribusiness", a special tour to the USA was organized in August-September 2022, in which 13 representatives of Ukrainian agribusiness took part.
The participants met with Mr. Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture, and representatives of the USDA, who are involved in the formation of directions for supporting the agricultural sector of Ukraine to help overcome the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As a result of BRIDGES cooperation with George Washington University, a summit and press conference of the Ukrainian business representatives and BIRDGES management was held as part of the trip, which was attended offline and online by more than 450 listeners from 12 countries of the world, including representatives of American business, universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, embassies. Ukrainian farmers told about the consequences of the Russian war on their own farms, talked with the American community, and discussed the problems of the agricultural sector of Ukraine in the conditions of Russian aggression.
The trip was supported by BRIDGES partner Precision Planting, which shared the latest technologies and achievements of the company during the visit of the participants to the experimental fields of Precision Planting in Pontiac (Illinois) and participation in the largest American exhibition of agricultural machinery "Farm Progress Show". During the exhibition, representatives of Ukrainian agribusiness held a number of meetings with partners at the companies' stands and visited fellow farmers from the state of Iowa specializing in growing soybeans and corn.