Farmers in the southern regions of Ukraine, particularly in Kherson region, are suffering catastrophic losses not only because of the war, but also as a result of prolonged drought. This was stated by Denys Marchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council, on the air of the telethon “Unified News”.

Currently, the situation in the liberated areas of Kherson region remains critical: due to the drought, crop losses have already been recorded on an area of more than 55,000 hectares, which in monetary terms exceeds UAH 1 billion.

"The drought has hit liberated territories of Kherson region and adjacent areas of Mykolaiv region the hardest. A similar situation is observed in the eastern territories of Dnipropetrovsk region. Farmers there lack even the basic resources to run their farms. In fact, sowing was carried out with borrowed funds, and the current drought will only exacerbate their financial losses," Denys Marchuk emphasized.

The UAC, together with 20 other agrarian associations, appealed to the government with a request to urgently provide support for such farms, in particular in the form of payments per hectare.

In response to the collective appeal, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food stated that the state budget for 2025 does not provide for compensation for crop losses due to extreme weather conditions. Instead, farmers can take advantage of the “5-7-9%” preferential lending program, which also applies to businesses in frontline territories.

At the same time, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy emphasizes the need for crop insurance as a key risk management tool, particularly for weather risks, which cause significant losses every year.

However, another problem for farmers is that during martial law, agricultural insurance does not apply, and insurance companies do not cover risks related to war.

“It is very important that the state budget for 2026 includes a program of state insurance of agricultural risks, especially for frontline territories, where agribusiness remains most vulnerable,” emphasized the Deputy Chairman of the UAC.