Leading agricultural associations are concerned about the plans of the Office of the President of Ukraine and the parliamentary majority, which were announced in the media, to create the Ministry of Resources of Ukraine by merging the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. Leading agricultural associations are concerned about the consequences of such actions.
In their appeal, the signatories note that Ukraine's agricultural sector is a leading and critically important sector of the national economy, generating 15% of GDP, providing about 60% of foreign exchange earnings from exports, and is vital for ensuring economic stability, financing the army, and food security (not only within the country but also globally). In addition, the agricultural sector is one of the largest taxpayers in Ukraine, with companies in the industry paying approximately UAH 215 billion to the consolidated and consolidated budgets in 2024 and UAH 49.4 billion to local budgets.
Agricultural associations point out that the industry needs a separate specialized central government body that will be responsible for determining the priority areas of development for the sector, forming agricultural policy, ensuring the stability of the agricultural sector in wartime, and regaining its lost leading position in world markets, especially considering Ukraine's unwavering course toward the EU.
"This is a complex legislative process that requires an understanding of the specific characteristics of the sector and professional representation at the government and parliamentary levels. Experience in negotiations with European countries shows that the process of integrating the Ukrainian agricultural sector and opening up access to European markets for domestic goods is complex, so it is extremely important to have a Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food that can defend the interests of the Ukrainian agricultural sector. After all, most countries with developed agribusiness have a separate central executive body that is solely responsible for shaping agricultural policy, in particular, the United States, Canada, Turkey, and almost all EU member states have ministries or agencies that are solely responsible for agriculture and food," the signatories of the appeal emphasizes.
According to agricultural associations, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy currently not only formulates but also implements agricultural policy through its subordinate entities, in particular, the State Food and Consumer Service, the State Geocadastre, the State Fisheries Agency, etc. Managing and directing the work of entities that directly provide services and perform control functions in the agricultural sector is one of the important components of the work of the relevant ministry.
Considering the above, industry representatives ask the President to take into account the position of leading public associations in the agro-industrial complex during the reform of the Government, as they are convinced that the liquidation of the relevant ministry will weaken the sector as a whole, which continues to operate and provide revenue to the budget and financing for the army in the extremely difficult conditions of wartime.
The appeal is below:
