From scratch to its own brand: How DOLYA-2019 Farm is building a niche agribusiness on pumpkin seeds

Just a few years ago, Bohdan Fedorchuk was only experimenting with pumpkin cultivation, but today his farm is known far beyond the region. He specializes in growing pumpkin seeds, speaks at agricultural conferences, and shares practical experience with farmers who are looking for new niches and ways to increase the profitability of their farms. But this result is not a story of quick success, as behind it stand years of experiments, investments, the search for an effective cultivation model, and work with a niche crop that is only gaining popularity in Ukraine.

Bohdan started his first agricultural business together with his wife in 2016. At that time, the farm grew various crops: soybeans, corn, and pumpkins. Later, pumpkin seeds became the crop that interested the farmer the most because of their niche character and development potential. In 2019, he established a separate farm enterprise, “DOLYA-2019”, and in 2021, after purchasing specialized equipment for harvesting and drying pumpkin seeds, he began actively developing this area.

Over several years, the farm grew significantly. If in 2021 the sown area was about 150 hectares, then in 2024 it had already reached 350 hectares. In 2025, the area was reduced to 300 hectares, but this was a deliberate decision related to the optimization of production processes, not a decrease in interest in the crop.

One of the main challenges for the farm remained machinery. It was difficult to purchase the entire necessary fleet for land cultivation with its own resources, and the equipment of another farm that Bohdan used was not always able to complete the work within critical deadlines. That is why the farmer began cooperating with PE “Express”, which provides soil preparation services before sowing.

The full-scale war only increased the pressure on farmers: the farm faced a reduction in workers, rising fuel prices, and higher service costs. The 2025 season added new problems as well: climatic anomalies in spring and summer, frosts during sowing, uneven germination, and issues with seed quality.

Under these conditions, the farmer decided to allocate part of the land to soybeans, not only for diversification, but also to maintain soil quality through proper crop rotation. On an area of 100 hectares, PE “Express”, with the support of the U.S. Government under the AGRO Program, carried out plowing, harrowing, and soybean sowing at a reduced cost.

“Before pumpkins, any crop can be grown in the field except sunflower, as it is threatened by the same diseases and the same crop protection products are used. Instead, soybeans are an excellent preceding crop because they clean the field of weeds. And pumpkin itself is a good preceding crop for corn and other crops, because it leaves behind almost 40 tons of organic matter per hectare,” says Bohdan Fedorchuk.

Thanks to this support, the farm was able to save about 240 thousand hryvnias. For a small agribusiness, this is a significant resource that the farmer plans to direct toward launching a new area of activity: pumpkin oil production.

Today, FE “DOLYA-2019” has already purchased equipment for future production: a press, a roasting unit, filtration systems, and grinders. The total investment amounts to about 15 million hryvnias. In 2026, the farm plans to launch its own pumpkin oil brand and enter a new stage of development, moving from growing raw materials to producing a finished product with added value.

Bohdan does not hide the fact that pumpkin is a complex and costly crop, but in his opinion, such niches can help small farms become more resilient and profitable.

“Pumpkin is not a cheap pleasure. This crop requires significant expenses, but if a farmer wants to slightly increase the profitability of their farm, it is a very interesting option for business diversification. I believe this is a highly profitable and promising area of agribusiness that is not inferior to livestock farming,” he says.

PE “Express” continues to operate and provide land cultivation services at a reduced cost. Our services have already been used by 14 MSMEs on an area of about 3,000 hectares. As of today, two new John Deere tractors have already been purchased, which will soon arrive at the enterprise and provide services for plowing, harrowing, sowing, and harvesting.