In 2023, a greenhouse farm was built at TeofipolLisVod Municipal Enterprise as part of the “Vegetable Growing Development Hub in Teofipol Municipality” project. The project was implemented by Territory of New Changes NGO with the financial support of U-LEAD. The goal was practical: the municipality sought to create the conditions for its own food security through the development of vegetable growing: to strengthen the capacity of the municipal enterprise, support vulnerable populations and small producers, as well as establish practices that can be scaled up and adopted by other municipalities.
"This project served as a catalyst and the starting point for greenhouse farming in the municipality. In 2023, when we first started out in this field, we were complete novices, learning the ropes, bringing in agronomists and advisory services and getting to grips with the technology. But even then, it was clear that this approach was effective and had potential for both the enterprise and the municipality, says Yurii Melnyk, the Director of TeofipolLisVod.
The project was not just about building a greenhouse. At the same time, the municipality worked to promote modern vegetable growing, introducing people to new approaches to growing seedlings, high-quality seeds and cultivation techniques. As part of the initiative, some of the seedlings were given to locals for free, as long as they grew them on their own plots. For many, this was their first encounter with closed root system seedlings.
“We purposefully gave people the option to try them out. They saw the difference between ordinary seedlings and those grown using modern technology, understanding how much produce they yield. Now people come to us in advance, order seedlings, knowing that we offer high-quality products, and they are willing to pay for this quality,” notes Yurii Melnyk.
Alongside the project implementation with the support of U-LEAD, the enterprise invested its own funds in infrastructure development: electricity supply, water supply, water disposal, construction of a boiler room and purchase of tools and equipment. This enabled the greenhouse to operate at full capacity and plan production several seasons in advance.
“This project is an example of how a strategic decision by the municipality can have a long-term effect. Teofipol municipality adopted a Food Security Programme, and it was within this framework that the Vegetable Growing Development Hub was created with the support of U-LEAD. It is important to us that the project did not end with our support: the municipality continued its development, investing its own resources, attracting partners and building this direction as part of its long-term strategy. This is how we see sustainable municipal development — initiatives that thrive and scale up,” says Yuliia Mazur, the Head of the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
Today, TeofipolLisVod cultivates peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, cabbage, carrots, watermelons and other crops. Planting stock is ordered by locals and people from nearby areas. The enterprise works with advance orders, visits local markets and starosta districts.
Over time, the greenhouse farm has grown into a service platform for local farmers. In 2025, one of them rented the enterprise’s greenhouse to grow about 600,000 celery seedlings, which were kept in a controlled environment until weather conditions stabilised.
“Today, greenhouse farming is not just about production, but also about providing services to the municipality and farmers. People come to us for seedling cultivation, rent greenhouses and inquire about technology. We have proven that this model works, and it encourages others to develop in this direction,” says Yurii Melnyk.
The project also had a spillover effect on the municipality. TeofipolLisVod employs several internally displaced persons, and the greenhouse farm has become a role model for those considering their own initiatives in vegetable growing. The municipality has seen the emergence of small private greenhouses, with people actively applying for grant programmes and investing in crop cultivation.
“This small U-LEAD initiative prompted the development of sustainable agricultural municipal development, rural growth and the creation of a ‘small cluster’ and local influence group of people interested in vegetable growing. When working with a municipality, we try to find the right direction and select the rural development tools that will help them get started and begin building their own success story,” says Andrii Pohorilyi, the Head of U-LEAD’s Rural Development Working Group.
Presently, TeofipolLisVod operates two greenhouses, with plans to expand greenhouse farming to five. The enterprise is looking for partners and donors to implement each subsequent stage.
The case study of the Vegetable Growing Hub in Teofipol municipality illustrates how a project implemented with the support of U-LEAD can evolve into a stable driver of sustainable rural development by changing the approach to crop production, supporting local producers and strengthening the economic capacity of the municipality.
