Due to the full-scale invasion, Inna Fedosienko, co-founder of the once largest vegetable producer in Kharkiv region ‘Ovochy Slobozhanshchyny’ spent a month under occupation and lost 700 hectares of land. The family managed to leave and relocate the farm to Ivano-Frankivsk region. However, after the de-occupation of Kharkiv region, she began to receive tax bills and their territory was recognized as a zone of possible, not active, hostilities, and many legal and economic issues arose that the owner was not prepared for. She asked for help from experts at the advisory line, which was opened by the UAC with the support of the USAID AGRO Program as part of a joint project to provide legal and other expert support to affected agricultural producers.
Before the war, the ‘Ovochy Slobozhanshchyny’ farm grew vegetables, grains, and oilseeds, cultivated about 700 hectares of land in Kharkiv region, and was the largest vegetable producer in the region. In particular, they grew ‘borscht set’ on 150 hectares. We were developing very rapidly and upgraded our machinery. We worked with large supermarkets and local small shops. Due to the large storage facilities, they were able to work all year round.
After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the farmer and her family lived under occupation for a month. All this time they stayed in the basement, but later they were able to leave.
"We were the last to leave. The road was mined behind us. The occupiers took away the grain and oilseeds, and the vegetables just decayed because they have an expiration date. There were 400 tons of cabbage left in the fridge and it was all leaking, the storage containers were ruined. We left everything in the occupation,” recalls Inna Fedosienko, co-founder of the ‘Ovochy Slobozhanshchyny’ farm.
The founders relocated the farm to Ivano-Frankivsk region. Now they rent 35 hectares of land there and continue their business. They have employed 15 people and bought a refrigerator to transport vegetables. However, as a result of the war and relocation, many legal issues arose that limited the resumption of operations and which the farmers could not handle on their own. That's why they turned to the UAC's advisory line, which operates with the support of the USAID AGRO Program.
"Thanks to the qualified expert support, we managed to draw up documents to record the damage caused by the hostilities and take other necessary legal actions. In particular, in Kharkiv region, we received a decision on the impossibility of fulfilling the obligations of a taxpayer and tax benefits from the local administration on potentially mined land plots. This allowed us to save financial resources that we used to develop the reclaimed farm. The UAC with the support of USAID AGRO it is a very useful and necessary thing for me. I could not have done it without this help,” said Inna Fedosienko.
The family plans to lease 150 hectares to grow ‘borsch set’ vegetables again and continue the business they love.
In total, through the work of the advisory line to help affected agricultural producers, experts have provided more than 300 legal consultations on taxation, documentation of losses, postponement of workers from military service, access to credit, demining, and government support.
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