Agricultural LLC “Druzhba” is an agricultural enterprise founded in 1997. The company’s main activities include the cultivation of winter wheat, sunflower, corn, soybeans, and other grain crops. The enterprise employs 76 people who cultivate more than 2,600 hectares of arable land. The company carries out the full agricultural production cycle, from soil cultivation to harvesting, using its own agricultural machinery.

Agricultural LLC “Druzhba” supplies its products to wholesale buyers. The company’s main clients are located in Ukraine. In 2021, the company’s sales exceeded UAH 100 million.

To improve the quality of its products and enhance their environmental sustainability, the company invested in a comprehensive Reinke irrigation system, obtaining a loan of EUR 1.03 million under the EU4Business–EBRD Credit Line.

Comprehensive irrigation of agricultural crops has many advantages. The most obvious is increased crop yields. However, comprehensive irrigation also improves operational flexibility, ensures higher product quality, reduces or eliminates crop damage caused by water shortages, extends the growing season, and effectively acts as insurance against seasonal variability and drought.

In addition to these benefits for the farm (and its customers), this type of irrigation also saves significant amounts of water, thereby improving the environmental sustainability of agricultural operations.

Following the successful implementation and verification of this project, the company received a grant equivalent to 15 per cent of the loan amount, financed under the European Union’s EU4Business initiative.

Thanks to these investments, the company now complies with European standards in the field of water management.