The Serhiivska amalgamated hromada in the Poltava Oblast does not expect a large investor. It is more profitable for the AH to provide its entrepreneurs with the opportunity to work. The main purpose of the hromada is to create consitions for people to earn money on their own farms.

Ihor Lidovyi, head of the Serhiivska AH, shared how the hromada helps its residents in starting a business and how the AH villages distribute funds in the UCMC-DOBRE project “Speakers of Hromadas”.

 

In the summer of 2016, 13 settlements amalgamated into one hromada – about 3,000 people now live here.

“When we started amalgamation, we agreed that we should not have a centre as such. All settlements – small and large ones – should develop.”

The executive committee is formed of representatives of all hromada settlements. Starostas have veto at sessions, and land issues are settled by the starosta districts where the land is located.

Ihor Lidovyi says local councils now have many more powers and opportunities to grow their AH.

 

 

The Serhiivska AH constructs water supply systems, repairs roads. In order to have money for all this the hromada works on revenue increase.

The AH has an area of ​​170 square kilometres. A large area is occupied by forests, which the AH cannot yet utilise, but auctions on agricultural land are already being conducted. There are oil and gas deposits in the hromada, as well as enough land for households. Local government has allocated a hectare of land for horticulture and 15 hectares for private peasant farms.

There are enough jobs in the AH, says Ihor Lidovyi, but hromada is interested in making people run their own businesses.

In order to motivate people to engage in private entrepreneurship the hromada offers to set up cooperatives and help start a business.

 

 

The Entrepreneurship Support Fund has been operating in the AH for already two years, working in partnership with the respective rayon organisation. Every startup entrepreneur can get money from the Fund to launch a business.

“We had a bakery project. It was planned that it would provide fresh bakery products to our schools, kindergartens, local residents. However, the bakery was so successful that it started operating throughout the rayon. Other schools and stores have concluded product supply agreements.”

Now the Entrepreneurship Support Fund helps to buy equipment for the future cheese factory.

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