If you do still believe that in Ukraine there are no pig farms that can compete with the best world ones, then you do not know about Nyva Pereyaslavshchyny, JV LLC. Enterprise has already built seven closed-cycle complexes, with the capacity of 30 thousand head per year each. Only 11 employees operate on each complex, but the Nyva Pereyaslavshchyny’s production figures are at the level with world leaders of pig production. But according to livestock executive manager Vitaliy Shakel: the main objective of the company — not to chase the rates but become more efficient. Then business under any conditions will be profitable and bring profits.

• Vitaliy, how did the fate bring you to one of the best national pig complexes?

• As for me, I am from Latvian countryside. Parents had a small farm — 100 sows in closed cycle. That’s why the «craving» to agriculture and wish to get agrarian education was inborn. When I got the diploma, I took an occasion to go to Denmark and do the fieldwork. I came to the farm, where the Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs were grown for different research, e.g. medicament testing. When the practice ended, I returned to the homeland but only for one year, and then I again went to Denmark to work on a pig farm. I started as employee, and when the enterprise expended, I head the unit and in time became a general manager. But when you know what you will do this very day in a year, it becomes boring. I was short in movement, that’s why I decided to find work in Russia. But friends matched to «Nyva Pereyaslavshchyny». Several days I looked how the pig complex works, walked around Kiev and understood that was the thing I needed. I have been working here for six years and do not regret.

• The farm is British-Ukrainian, and technologies are Danish. Why so?

• When the owner of the company has been deciding, what to do, first of all he started to develop horticulture. Then came the understanding that crop can be fed, so he decided to develop the pigbreeding. Before starting it the owner had visited European countries — England, France, Denmark, he looked how business is managed there, and finally stopped on Danish approach. All has started with Danish consultant. He, naturally, recommend local genetics. For these animals the Danish equipment was bought. So everything was done for business in Ukraine was as effective as in Europe.

• You have already bought seven pig complexes. To what extent will you increase the capacities?

• We have already started building the eighth complex: lay communication lines, did roads, for cars to drive in autumn. At the same time we work on documentation of the ninth pig unit. In general we plan ten of them, for more complexes there is lack of capacities of our feed mill. Also we plan to fix modern treatment facilities in our slaughterhouse and meat processing plant. There are no such facilities in Ukraine yet. This project has also an important social component: we’ll clean the village flows.

• All your complexes are the same, or you try to improve each?

• Every pig complex is typical. All of them are «twins». The only question is how quickly people can build them. For our team it is a routine. When we built our second complex, we had been installing the equipment in finishing unit for one and half month. Now we spend less than three weeks. What about innovations, there is a nice saying: «The old well-tried thing is better than a new one». That’s why all our pig complexes are similar. The only thing we want constantly improve are working people. They attend training seminars, go abroad to see interesting solutions that we later use on our farm.

• «Nyva Pereyaslavshchyny» is single native farm that has not only own building team, but all necessary equipment, concrete mixing station, you produce concrete slabs, slatted floors and manure tanks. How much can you save?

• Figures prove that have own building team is half cheaper than hire a builder and buy necessary elements of construction. It has and will have enough work even when we’ll built all ten complexes. Thus the next year the modernization of second complex is planned, within a year — of the third one and so on. And also our builders put up kindergarten in Paryshkiv village, base for security subdivision, finished a house on ten apartments for staff. We plan build cottages in region for the best workers with families.

• Vitaliy, you are the manager of very effective enterprise, whose workers have twinkle in their eyes, as you say. Will you share your secret?

• In order to be a manager and develop the business it is necessary to put together the team of enthusiasts and motivate them properly (not only with money!). You should be able to communicate with people. I can say from my own experience: a carrot and stick method is really effective. But even if you need to reprove to a worker, never touch personal identity.

• By the way, how do you relax? Do you have any hobby?

• In general it is fishing. Sometimes diving. Everyone should have an escape, lest the dream disappear. People break up without dream.

1. When does the enterprise plan to bring the livestock to the newly-built unit? With what genetics do they work?
2. What alternative tools of heating does «Nyva Pereyaslavshchyny» use and how much economize thanks to them?
3. What’s the guarantee of successful work of the enterprise? How to choose staff correctly?
4. «Nyva Pereyaslavshchyny» got the credit aid from EBRD. How it manage to do it?
5. What is the price of building one typical pig unit?
6. Does the enterprise plan to come into the European market?

You can find answers for these and other questions in the full version of the interview in the magazine «Profitable Pig Production», № 4 (22) 2014.