She does this while raising nine children, including three adopted and one with a disability. She does this while her eldest son serves on the front lines. And she does this in a region that has endured shelling, occupation, and the grinding uncertainty of prolonged war.
That Yelyzaveta's farm is not only standing but growing is, in itself, a remarkable act of resilience. That it is now becoming a model for cooperative agriculture in her community is the direct result of your investment in her potential.
Yelyzaveta began farming a decade ago, producing purely for her family's needs. As her skill and determination grew, so did her operation, and today she processes her own milk and sells artisanal products at markets in Kyiv. But like so many small-scale women farmers across Ukraine, she was doing this largely alone, without access to the technical knowledge, peer networks, or modern practices that could take her further.
That changed in April 2025, when Yelyzaveta participated in a livestock management training organized by Swisscontact under the Empower Agriwomen project.
Leaving the farm was not a simple decision. Power outages, the threat of shelling, and the weight of a large household made every absence costly. But her husband took on the farm duties, and Yelyzaveta made the journey to the Nizhyn Agrotechnical Institute, where she encountered international expertise, innovative technologies, and, perhaps most valuably, other women who shared her ambitions.
The impact was immediate. Yelyzaveta returned home with concrete knowledge on modern livestock management and a renewed sense of what was possible. Within months, she joined a Swisscontact study tour to Western Ukraine, this time without hesitation, visiting cooperative farms across the Lviv, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. What she saw there sparked a new vision: building cooperative structures that could strengthen not just her farm, but her entire community.
"On the one hand, they help increase productivity and boost our family's income. On the other hand, they expand communication opportunities with other women in agribusiness. Such events build a support network, helping us feel confident and see prospects that previously seemed unattainable."
This is what your support creates: not just skills, but solidarity. Not just productivity, but possibility.
The work ahead and why it matters
Yelyzaveta speaks candidly about the barriers that remain. Pasture land is scarce. Local authorities provide limited support to small producers. Agricultural machinery, which is essential to scaling up, is out of reach without accessible financing. And with so many men mobilized, women like her are increasingly expected to master technical roles that were never part of their original plans.
She is ready. With the right tools and continued support, Yelyzaveta is prepared to operate agricultural machinery herself, expand her cooperative networks, and grow a farm that sustains not only her family, but contributes to the broader recovery of rural Ukraine.
Her story is not unique, it is representative. Across conflict-affected regions, small-scale women farmers are holding communities together with extraordinary tenacity. What they need is what you provide: access to knowledge, connection to peers, and the confidence that comes from being seen and invested in.
This project is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, which is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA. The project is also supported by additional funding partners, including Katholisch Stadt Zürich.