b"HOW BUSINESSES ARE PREPARING FOR BLACKOUTS THIS WINTEREXPERIENCES OF UKRAINIAN SEED COMPANIES.BY: MARCEL BRUINSA s Ukrainians brace for another chal-lenging winter amidst the ongoing war and prolonged power outages, businesses across the country are preparing for disruptions. With Russian forces contin-uing large-scale attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the cold months could bring electricity shortages lasting 14-16 hours a day. The energy crisis affects all sectors of the economy, but the impact is particu-larly severe on agribusiness, one of the key contributors to the state budget. Seed pro-ducers, in particular, are under pressure, as proper storage conditions are crucial for their products. Unreliable power supplies can lead to significant losses. As a result, companies must not only adjust their oper-ations but also become more flexible in production and logistics, all while bearing substantial additional costs.So, how are seed companies prepar-ing to manage these blackouts? Seed World Europe spoke with representatives of two Ukrainian seed companies, LNZ Group and TVK Seed Agrocompany, to see how they were coping with these hurdles.PLANNING, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, AND ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCESThe experience of companies shows that planning is the cornerstone of maintain-ing business continuity. This involves con-sidering all possible scenarios, equipping employees with clear action plans, and securing independent power sources well in advance.LNZ Group, an agro-holding spe-cializing in grain and seed production, has developed a comprehensive approach to ensure business efficiency. The company has adjusted work schedules to align with Seed producers need proper storage conditions and unreliable power supplies can lead to significantpredicted outages, minimizing their impact losses. Source: LNZ on employee productivity.28ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | NOVEMBER 2024"