“Refreshing the economy: what crops have mattered in 2026 and how not to go into the red”
The Berry&Fruit Academy opens its 2026 program: strawberries and raspberries, apples, and vegetables
At the end of February, the Ternopil region will welcome participants in the 46th international scientific and practical conference HortiTech Ukraine 2026: horticulture, berries, and vegetables, organized by the support media group “Technologies and Innovations”. The conference will cover three days, from February 25 to 27, and will be filled with information, communication, and impressions from visiting the best farms in the region – FG Gadz and the cooperative “Fayna Polyana”.
The first lecture session of the Berry&Fruit Academy will become the highlight of this year’s conference opening. This is a new project of the media group “Technologies and Innovations”. On December 12, 2025, the project launched as part of the conference “SmartBerry Conference: Technologies, Innovations, Success”. The first training day was focused on three key crops: strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. International experts – Anna Lutsko, Jeremy Darby, and Iryna Kobrynets comprehensively analyzed each berry: from the biological characteristics of plants to the financial profitability of the business. Oleksandr Nesteruk, Head of the Agricultural Export Marketing Department of AV Union, told us about the results of participation in the SMARTBERRY 2025 conference, the practical value of the T&I Berry&Fruit Academy educational platform, and current issues of berry export.
“I would like to separately mention the educational platform T&I Berry&Fruit Academy. For me, it was especially interesting to communicate with Jeremy Darby from the UK, – an independent agronomist-consultant in the cultivation of berries, asparagus, and berry nurseries. The greatest interest in the context of export is raspberries, and I received valuable information on the requirements of the European Union, documentation, as well as technological aspects of freezing. This includes both quality characteristics and suitable varieties, and the process of harvesting and freezing berries. In this context, the Academy proved to be a truly useful and professional platform for exchanging practical knowledge.”
The 2026 program of the Berry&Fruit Academy, a new project of the Technologies and Innovations media group, opens with a practical conversation about crop selection and risk management. This will be an event not only about technology and not only about “ideal cultivation”, but also about decision-making at the farm level, what should be kept in operation, what should be changed, and what should be abandoned in time.
At the end of the lecture day, the Academy participants will take part in a meeting of the Berry&Fruit Business Club. This is also a new project of the media group, which aims to bring together owners and managers of farms and enterprises, as well as agronomists and other responsible decision-makers. Continuing the discussions initiated during the lectures, a moderated discussion of the topic is planned, in order to determine and make specific decisions regarding further development. The informal part of the Business Club will include a presentation of Ukrainian wine from one of the best producers GIGI winery (Vinnytsia region), under the slogan “Consume Ukrainian. Support your own” and other domestic products”, and informal communication.
A few words about what Berry&Fruit Academy is. This is an offline platform for those who think in terms of the farm, not a separate crop. As the founder of the Academy, editor-in-chief, and co-founder of the media group “Technologies and Innovations” Kateryna Koneva emphasizes, “we work where romance ends and start business as we compare berries, orchards, and vegetables through economics, risks, and typical mistakes.” The Academy does not teach “how to grow perfectly.” We teach to understand whether it is worth growing or not and under what conditions it makes sense for your farm.
“Within the framework of this event, we deliberately do not dip into greenhouse technologies,” says Nadiya Yashchuk, director and co-founder of the media group “Technologies and Innovations,” – We will talk about the theme separately, at the HortiTech Ukraine 2026 conference – Horticulture, Berries, Vegetables. Here the focus is different: the choice of crops, the logic of this choice, the peculiarities in growing, care, and harvesting, as well as an analysis of mistakes that most often lead to losses.
When selecting the topics for the Berry&Fruit Academy lecture day, the organizers didn’t follow the path of abstract trends. The program is based on the results of the previous season in fruit, berry, and vegetable production, sale and statistic including honest feedback from practitioners who move money, not hectares. This approach made it possible to identify the crops that will remain the most profitable under real market conditions in 2026.
Experienced lecturers-practitioners are invited to participate, who speak not theoretically, but from the perspective of their own projects and mistakes. The focus of the day consists of three blocks: berries – strawberries and raspberries, apples, and vegetables – cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and greens grown under cover soil. Each topic is presented not “ideally”, but as a search for solutions: where the margin is lost, which technological and management mistakes are the most expensive, and what exactly should be changed so that production works stably and predictably.
Here is a brief description of the speeches
Berries – strawberries and raspberries Crops with high potential and high risks. Analysis of the choice of varieties for the fresh market, processing, and greenhouse formats; critical moments of care and harvesting; decisions that form margins and mistakes that turn the harvest into a weak economy. Separately, what shouldn’t be paid attention to in 2026, even if it looks attractive.
Apple: What to do with an unprofitable orchard.
A block for those who already have an orchard but it is still not profitable. When it makes sense to keep the orchard, when need to be reformed, and when it would be better to close it to stop losses, as well as replacing varieties, working with the market, care and harvesting, illusions around storage, and “expecting the best price”. Honest about solutions that turn the orchard from a burden into a manageable business — or allow you to get out of the red in time.
Cucumber, cherry tomato, and greens
Quick-turnover crops are often chosen as a response to the crisis. Analysis of crop selection, growing and harvesting characteristics, team workload, and management decisions that
determine whether a farm will make money from the first cycle or start subsidizing production.
Berry&Fruit Academy is addressed to those who make or shape decisions:
- owners and managers of farms where they are going to plant berries, orchards, and/or vegetables;
- producers who in 2026 are reviewing the structure of the farm and are looking for an answer to the question: what to keep and what to refuse;
- farms where one or more crops are already operating at the limit of profitability;
- agronomists and chief agronomists who are involved in the selection of crops, varieties, and production models and want to understand the economic consequences of agricultural decisions;
- teams who are planning diversification and want to compare options soberly, not according to trends.
Berry&Fruit Academy is not only a specialized event for one crop. The purpose is to show the logic of decision-making at the farm level, not a separate crop:
- how to compare berries, orchards, and vegetables with each other;
- how to assess risks, loads, and real profit;
- why sometimes it is much better to close one direction so that another brings profit.
Those who need an in-depth analysis of one crop or greenhouse technologies should focus on the specialized modules of the Academy. This is an event for those who think about the farm as a system and build a long, managed economy, and not live from season to season.
Berry&Fruit Business Club: decision point
The final chord of the first day of the Berry&Fruit Academy will be Berry&Fruit Business Club: decision point — a closed format for owners, managers, and agronomists who participate in decision-making.
The first 30 minutes — the decision point, in particular, a moderated discussion of what was heard during the day: which of the announced approaches and crops really “fit” on specific farms;
What decisions the participants are ready to make right now;
Where doubts and risks of “going into the red” remain;
Short cases from the audience— not about successes, but about difficult points of choice.
This is not a lecture or a panel. This is a conversation of those who, after numbers and arguments, have to answer the question: what do we do next? The evening continues with an informal part of the Business Club. The slogan of the evening: “Consume Ukrainian. Support your own” The wine partner of the event is GIGI Winery. The presentation of unique Ukrainian wines “with a Georgian accent” will be held by the founder of the wine company, Volodymyr Gigineishvili.
A presentation of cheeses and other local products will be presented as well. All this is a logical continuation of the discussion about one’s own production, responsible choice, and support of one’s own – in the format of live communication without microphones and slides.
Berry&Fruit Business Club is not a one-time event, but the beginning of creating a community of people who think about the economy as a system and build their work on calculation, choice, and systemic solutions.
Practical program of the day
12:30 – 13:00 Registration
13:00 – 14:35 Berry crops, how to avoid losses and stay profitable
14:35 – 15:00 Coffee break
15:00 – 16:20 Apple orchard, how to avoid losses
16:20 – 16:30 Coffee break
16:30 – 18:05 Vegetables and greens grown in the greenhouses, economy 2026
18:05 – 18:15 break
18:15 – 21:00 – First meeting of the Berry&Fruit Business Club
Registration: https://forms.gle/FHr4hLsESEoXK9Rv5
Media partners of the conference: specialized industry journals “Horticulture and Vegetable Growing. Technologies and Innovations”, “Berry Field”, “Nut Wood”, “Drinks. Technologies and Innovations”, websites www.jagodnik.info, www.techhorticulture.com, www.techdrinks.info
Terms of participation
As a participant:
For agricultural producers:
6800 UAH – participation in 3 days on February 25-27, including the Business Tour and T&I Berry&Fruit Academy.
4800 UAH – participation in 2 days, including the Business Tour or T&I Berry&Fruit Academy.
3000 UAH – participation on February 26 – conference day.
2000 UAH – Business Tour (registration is possible only if you participate on the first day).
2500 UAH – T&I Berry&Fruit Academy (registration is possible only if you participate on the first day).
For non-agricultural producers (companies):
6500 UAH – participation in all events for 2 days, including the Business Tour.
4000 UAH – participation on February 26 – conference day.
For small farms and scientists:
2500 UAH – participation on February 26 – conference day.
(The price includes coffee breaks, lunch, buffet; service during the event; participation in tasting of drinks and processed products; conference participant package with information materials; a detailed post-event report with final presentations of speakers, sent by e-mail, contacts of all exhibiting partners and speakers of the event).
To book rooms at the Garden Hall Hotel, please call: 096 999 58 58.
Please note: if you have documents confirming the business trip (order/business trip certificate), the tourist tax is not charged at the hotel.
Registration of participants and partners – by contacts:
Larysa, tel.: +38 097 96 89 516, sad.nti@ukr.net
Anna, tel.: +38 097 759 25 83, reklama.nti@gmail.com
Iryna, tel.: +38 096 49 166 92, oksana.buh.ti@gmail.com
Project Manager: Nadiya Yashchuk, tel. +38 (068) 568-58-22, rnadia@ukr.net
Creative Director: Kateryna Koneva, Editor-in-Chief of the “Technologies and Innovations” project,
tel.: +38 067 238 18 51 kateryna.koneva@gmail.com
