Open World Alumnus Provides Support to Ukrainian Farmers During COVID-19 Pandemic
We commend our exchange program alumni for their efforts to support their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we hear from Open World exchange program alumnus Maksym Cherkashyn, who created an online platform ‘rynok.in.ua’ for Ukrainian farmers (small and medium sized businesses) to sell their products directly to consumers while they were unable to sell in the markets due to the quarantine.
You stepped up during quarantine to help small and medium sized businesses in Ukraine to survive during this difficult time. Can you tell us more about your initiative and website rynok.in.ua?
Our idea is to help small and family farms sell their own products. Due to the closure of markets and the cancellation of fairs, small farmers are not able to sell their products. On our website, a producer can easily and completely free of charge place information about their products, and potential consumers can find it and contact the seller.
How did you come up with the idea to create this online platform?
I am the head of the NGO “Educational and Analytical Center for Community Development” and a consultant in the Association of Ukrainian Cities; therefore I am in close contact with communities. In one conversation with the head of a community in Ternopil region, back in March, he expressed fears that due to the closure of markets, people from the community would be left without a penny, because the sale of homegrown potatoes, onions or beets is their only source of income. We talked to several family farms and confirmed this statement. The development of a detailed project with a search for donors and participation in competitions would have taken a lot of time, which we did not have. That is why we developed the website on our own, and the Association of Ukrainian Cities acted as a partner, and every community in Ukraine found out about us.
We have created a good product that needs to be communicated to the consumer. Therefore, we continued to look for partners among foundations, national TV channels and radio. We have received information about winning a competition from the Renaissance Foundation to promote our project.
How many farmers and SMEs are registered on the platform? Did you track how many connections between farmers and consumers were made?
Today we have about 250 registered farmers who have placed 298 products. The service is built in such a way that a buyer has the opportunity to contact a producer directly. Therefore, we can not track the number of contacts. We are not a shop, we are a platform where the producer meets the buyer without an intermediary party.
What has the reception been from farmers and consumers?
We actively communicate with our farmer users, and we even had to improve the website according to their needs and wishes. That is why there is a map on the website now, where you can see all the products, and each farmer has almost their own online store. In addition, producers can find their customers more easily and cheaply thanks to targeted advertising. Of course, the quarantine will soon end, which we all look forward to, and small farmers will already have at least 2 sales options — offline and online. Consumers also liked the idea, as an alternative to supermarkets. In addition, when you, for example, bought tomatoes online and you liked them, you can buy them from the same producer, which the classic offline market does not offer.
Do you think your experience in the Open World exchange helped you to make a difference today?
Yes, definitely. Here, I would like to note three things that I observed in the U.S. when I participated in an exchange program:
1. Strategic vision. What will happen the day after tomorrow? Therefore, back in March, we began to solve the problem that became apparent in April and May.
2. Communication with the target audience. We didn’t come up with anything ourselves, the problem was suggested to us by the residents of the communities. That is why the idea was well-received.
3. Flexibility. Back in early March, we did not even think about implementing the Open Market project. We worked with communities more in the context of trainings, but we know how to implement projects. Therefore, the team decided to try a new direction.
