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Popivka Territorial Community
Sumy
Population:
The Popivka rural territorial community is located in the Konotop district, Sumy region.
The total area is 886.2 sq. km
Population: 13,954 people
Men: 5,616
Women: 6,322
Children: 2,016
People of retirement age: 4,376
Internally displaced persons: 441
The community includes 44 population centers and has its administrative center in the village of Popivka.
History
The Popivka village council was formed in October 2020 and includes 44 population centers. Each of them has its own unique history and features.
Shapovalivka and Sosnivka are famous for the events of the Battle of Konotop in 1659 under the leadership of Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky, in which the Cossack army won a victory. Every year celebrations are held in the village of Shapovalivka, which have already acquired a national scale.
The “Batkivska Khata” Museum of Local History and Ethnography includes an exhibition hall where the products of local artisans are presented, a room of the historical development of the village of Maly Sambir, and an ancient Ukrainian parlour.
The wooden church of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin, built in 1906, is the jewel of the village of Deptivka which is a unique wooden architectural structure in terms of size and design.
The village of Vyrivka is known for its Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin, built in 1894. The Church of the Intercession is an architectural monument of national significance.
Karabutove went down in history as one of the oldest villages of the southern Konotop area and there is also a large reservoir in the village, which has become a favorite recreation spot for both local residents and guests of the friendly Konotop area.
Built in 1795, the Church of the Resurrection in the village of Koshary is the oldest cultural monument of the community. The church is also included in the register of architectural monuments of national significance and is protected by the Law of Ukraine.
Economy and Welfare
The community is dominated by agro-industrial activity which includes almost 50 agricultural societies of various forms of ownership and management, farming enterprises and private peasant farms.
It is also rich in natural resources: fertile chernozems, large deposits of peat for the production of peat briquettes for heating, clay for the production of bricks, and sand as an important building material. More than 12 percent of the community area is covered by public forests with rich flora and fauna.
The main area of economic activity in the community is agricultural production, namely crop and animal breeding, as well as milk and meat production.
The Popivka Village Council signed a memorandum of intent to ensure the deployment of a dairy cluster as part of the investment project “Dairy cluster in your community”.
In the future, the community plans to promote involvement in the creation of family dairy farms to ensure the sustainable development of rural areas and support entrepreneurship in every population center of the community.
In addition, the company “Molochna Sadyba” operates in the village of Shevchenkove, which has production facilities for processing milk of 124 tons per month. The company’s products are of high quality and widely in demand among the population.
Horticulture is developing in Malyi and Velikyi Sambir. The Sumy Research Station of Horticulture of Ukraine is located in the village of Malyi Sambir. Every year the “First Berry” holiday is held here – a strawberry festival which is attended by residents of the district, city, region and gardeners from all over Ukraine.
In today’s conditions, farmers are faced with a number of problems, the main of which are disruption of logistics chains and sales channels of agricultural products; high prices for fuel and lubricants and seed material; difficulty in selling products at economically justified prices.
But despite all the difficulties, the community lives, rebuilds, and works. In order to expand the process of reproduction, increase the competitiveness and quality of agricultural products, farmers invest their own funds in the purchase of agricultural machinery and equipment and in the development of the infrastructure of the agricultural market.
Also, 2 forestry enterprises and 1 industrial enterprise for the production of multifunctional thinner for the production of anti-icing agents, flaw detection, production of varnishes, paints and other detergents and chemicals operate on the territory of the community.
In order to create favorable conditions for carrying out entrepreneurial activities in the community, the Program for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises was approved. The priority area of the program is financial support for business entities, one of the measures of which is to provide small business entities with partial compensation for interest paid on loans obtained from state banking institutions for the development of business activities in priority areas for the community.
If retraining is necessary, the Professional Agrarian Lyceum operates on the territory of the community, which has a license to train workers.
The development of tourism is a relatively new direction for the community. Since the territory is rich in historical and cultural sights, it allows developing weekend routes, green tourism, which some local entrepreneurs have already taken advantage of, in particular, the first green estate “Northern Forest” which has its own horse farm.
The newest direction of tourism for the community is sports tourism. Recently built sports complexes in the community’s population centers make it possible to hold athletics championships with the simultaneous involvement of several venues and with the possibility of settling teams in a dormitory with modern living conditions.
Community and War
February 24, 2022 is the date that changed everyone’s peaceful life. The beginning of the invasion, the period of shelling and bombing are still vivid for the residents of the community. The population centers of the community were among the first to receive the blow from the Russian Federation. Some areas were completely isolated for a long time.
Unfortunately, the hostilities resulted in destruction and human casualties – dead and wounded people of the community. Almost 200 assets were completely or partially destroyed and damaged, including residential buildings of citizens, commercial buildings, medical institutions and cultural institutions. Road bridges and a large number of roads were destroyed. In connection with the danger associated with clogging with explosive materials, an area of about 74.3 hectares is not sown. All these consequences have required significant financial resources for recovery.
Despite all the difficulties of today, the community lives, rebuilds, and works. Roads are being restored and currently repaired. In addition, two bridges were restored in 2022 and one bridge was renovated in 2023.
Financial assistance was provided to the affected persons for the restoration of housing. They also received help from the Sumy Regional Military Administration, international organizations and were provided construction materials.
One of the main and priority tasks today is support and assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Culture workers hold charity concerts and sports competitions in support of the military. They also organized the procurement of products for borschts, teas, and home-made products. They make camouflage nets, trench candles, etc.
The Popivka community does not stand aside, but takes an active part in bringing the Victory Day closer. Every resident of the community is involved in this great cause. The community is open both to people who need help and to public or volunteer organizations, foundations, entrepreneurs, and caring citizens for cooperation.
People of the Community
The management of the territorial community is carried out by Popivka village head Anatoliy Boyarchuk.
The head of the community took part in the second international exhibition-conference in Warsaw on the topic “Reconstruction of communities of Ukraine that suffered from Russian aggression”.
Development Strategy
The community has started work on the preparation of the Development Strategy for the period until 2027. For this purpose, a working group was created which conducted a socio-economic analysis of the community and a survey of community residents and business representatives. Work continues on the creation of forecasts and scenarios for community development.
Also, the Village Council’s Economic and Social Development Program has been approved and is operating in the community, to which changes are constantly made and the list of projects and measures necessary for implementation is updated.
In addition, the community has developed and approved a socio-economic passport and a Community Investment Passport for attracting investments.
A memorandum of cooperation was concluded with the Regional Development Agency of the Sumy region for cooperation on issues of development and implementation of regional development projects.
One of the primary tasks for improving the quality of life of residents is the issue of safe and ecological drainage in multi-apartment buildings with sewage treatment. To do this, they initiated the modernization of the existing water drainage system, the construction of sewage treatment facilities for complete biological treatment of wastewater, and the separation of the network of the microdistrict of high-rise buildings of the village from the plant.
A local fire brigade was created and operates in the community. Its activity is extremely important, especially in the conditions of martial law. To ensure the activity of the fire-rescue units of the local fire department, 2 fire trucks are highly required.
The project for the construction of new water supply networks to ensure water supply to residents in one of the villages of the community is being implemented. The project is aimed at providing the population with high-quality and safe drinking water.
The plans include the implementation of the concept of major renovation of buildings and premises, their arrangement as a center for health restoration.
The complex object is subject to capital repair. It is important that it is located on the territory of the Seimsky regional landscape park, which is distinguished by special natural properties – a healing combination of clean air, coniferous forest, water procedures on the Seim River, which benefits human health. This facility includes three residential buildings with an area of almost 3,000 square meters. The building of the center has a swimming pool, shower rooms, a sports hall, rooms for rest and health recovery. The territory will have recreation areas, sports and children’s playgrounds, paths for walking, landscaping, flower gardens and landscape decorations.
One of the main tasks of this center is psychological and physical recovery of defenders of Ukraine and temporary stay of internally displaced persons.
A lot of work has already been done by the community at the expense of the local budget. Currently, part of the buildings and premises, including the dining room has been renovated, rooms for psychological recovery and relaxation have been arranged. But more needs to be done.
Currently, all possibilities are being considered for the implementation of this project in order to create the best conditions and ensure the provision of high-quality relevant services.