The Tsvihuns work side by side in Zaporizhia region. They created their peasant farm "Yaseny" in 1994. They started to work on 50 hectares of land. Nowadays they cultivate 2,500 hectares.

Is it easy for a woman to work in the agricultural sector? What is the power and what's missing? How to solve problems and what agrarian’s everyday life is - we will get answers from Rymma Tsvihun, a member of the UAC and a head of "Yaseny" agriculture enterprise (AE). According to Ms. Rymma, she is the head of the farm only formally, in fact it is a family business, where she works with her husband, son and daughter-in-law.

Tell us about your path to agriculture and farm activity?

- From the beginning of the establishment of the farm, we had no doubt that our future was in the agricultural sector. A small team of like-minded people started to work, and now the company employs about 40 people during the harvest season. We have got a freight business, our own storage facilities, warehouses, equipment for primary processing, we have our own fleet of agricultural machinery, so we constantly need workers.

Our land bank has grown from 50 hectares to 2,500 hectares. I will add that we cultivate the land using No-till technology, ie we have zero tillage. We grow winter wheat, winter and spring barley, corn, sunflower, peas. In 2021 we grew oil flax, according to the crop rotation we also grow mustard. If weather conditions allow, we also sow spring or winter rapeseed.

No-till technology is "forgotten" by farmers. Today it is more practiced in South America, USA, and why did you turn to zero tillage?

- We use No-till technology due to some objective reasons, first of all because of insufficient rainfall. Weather conditions are critical for our region. My husband has been monitoring the weather and measures precipitation on a monthly basis for many years. There were years when the average annual rainfall ranged from 270 mm to 450 mm. That means, we work in the zone of risky agriculture. No-till technology in a dry year allows you to get a better harvest than in deep tillage.

But this is more my husband's field of work. I am mainly engaged in administrative work: I work with landlords, regulatory authorities, banks, conclude contracts for the sale of our products, purchase of necessary equipment, machinery and more.

You only practice finishing products, but do not process them in your farm. Why is it so?

- Yes, we only deal with refinement to certain standards. We have specialized technological equipment, but we did not go into in-depth processing. For some time, we were engaged in seed production, but there was a problem with the originators of the varieties. If we used to pay royalties from sold seeds, nowadays many people try to get it from GDP of grown seeds. I do not want to cheat in principle, so we grow seeds only for the needs of our own farm.

You sell your harvest on the domestic market. How did you manage to set up the process and do you plan to export the products?

- For the last 5 years we have been selling our products through such a supply base as warehouse. Purchased equipment and machinery for fast and high-quality shipment of products, as well as certified scales. Most importantly, we have a reputation - our company is known as a decent partner. So, we have no problems with the products sale. We have the other the problem – they should be taken away in time. We do not plan to enter foreign markets now. After all, entering the foreign market requires additional specialists and time.

Many farmers talk about their farms through social networks, but your company does not have a page. Why don't you use this trend?

- Yes, we didn't go on a social network, and we don't need it. After all, our reputation, which we have earned for decades, works for us.

Is it difficult to be a woman-head of the farm? Do you feel discrimination by men?

- It is difficult to be a farmer at all. But I like working in the agro-sphere, its harmonious for me to work in this sector. As for discrimination, I have never felt it. Communication is very important for farmers, especially the discussion of new technologies. And these issues are more decided by my husband, I do not take part, so I do not particularly communicate with male farmers. I always tried to do only those work that I wanted to. No one took it from me or said, "Rymma, don't take it, you’d better take care of something else." I’ve never had a gender problem; nobody has devalued me. Next to me is a man who appreciates the work I do, and I appreciate what he does.

Do you think farmers need cooperation, public organizations, etc.?

- The answer is simple: “Yes!”. I will say more: the public union “UAC” was something new for me. Often farmers are united for certain political slogans, it's one thing. Another reason - practical work, that's what I saw in the activities of the UAC’s leadership.

The experts of the "Smart Country" convey the right point of view, both to agricultural enterprises and to the government. They hear the problems of farms and bring them to the state level. This is the only way to solve urgent issues for us.

I'm not even talking about practical webinars conducted by the UAC, that's where we get information not only on narrow issues, but comprehensive ones, which relates to accounting, law and more. It is always important to see the connection between different, at first glance, areas of activity. The UAC helps to find practical solutions to overcome the problem situation. It may not be as fast as we would like, but the time of "purchased agreements" should be over. There are two ways to solve a problem in Ukraine: the availability of money and purchased agreements (I solve my own problem and don’t care about my neighborі) and to operate within the framework of current legislation. This is the right way; the country must get rid of such a phenomenon as "purchased agreements".