Ukraine is preparing a broader industrial almond farming program after years of testing modern varieties and production technology. The Ukrainian Nut Association and partners have launched the sector initiative called Almond Rhapsody of Ukraine, aiming to move almond cultivation from experiments into a scalable orchard business.
The timing is important because April changes to the government support program for horticulture expanded grant access for industrial almond orchards to 16 regions. That gives growers a clearer financial route for planting orchards, building nurseries and planning future processing capacity.
Eight years of testing before expansion
The program is based on long-term work with modern almond varieties of different breeding origins. Specialists studied how the crop behaves in Ukrainian conditions and received conclusions from the Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.
The most promising results came from modern self-fertile Spanish varieties that proved more profitable and resilient to winter cold and spring frost. These varieties have already been entered into the State Register of Plant Varieties.
The practical base began in 2017, when Maksym Sheiko brought Spanish Soleto seedlings to Ukraine for testing. A trial plot was then established at the Filbert enterprise in Odesa region, where specialists continued studying the crop and recorded stable fruiting.
The program now has a technological scheme for industrial orchards and a base nursery called Almond Gardens. Seedlings are grown in Ukraine under a licensing agreement with Spain’s CSIC research institution. Processing is also part of the strategy: new facilities are being prepared at Filbert for future Ukrainian almond processing.
For investors and farmers, almonds may become another example of how Ukraine adapts high-value crops to local conditions. The sector still needs time, irrigation discipline and processing infrastructure, but the shift from trial plots to grant-supported orchards gives the business model a clearer foundation.
