To help small vineyards, the government is cutting red tape for licenses and is starting to subsidize the purchase of elite seedlings, winemaking equipment and drip irrigation

To help small vineyards, the government is cutting red tape for licenses and is starting to subsidize the purchase of elite seedlings, winemaking equipment and drip irrigation, Ivan Petrov, agrarian policy director for the Odesa Regional Administration, tells Ukrinform. Irrigation is increasingly important with the rising temperatures in southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s largest winemaking region, Odesa produces about 200,000 tons of grapes from 27,000 hectares. A few months ago, winemakers dumped several tons of grapes on an Odesa highway to protest the market opening.