After the occupation of Kherson region, Serhiy Rybalko lost 75% of his company's production capacity. Fortunately, the farm still had some land in the Zhytomyr region. So, he relocated his employees there and began to resume work. But despite the fact that the farm lost its property in Kherson region, the loans it had taken out to buy it remained.  It was very difficult to resume work in such conditions. The solution had to be found at the legislative level. The experts of the USAID AGRO Program's project to support affected agricultural producers, which is being implemented by the Ukrainian Agri Council, helped with this.

Serhii Rybalko and his wife founded the Adelaide farm in 1992. Later, their daughter and son joined the business.

From 50 hectares in 30 years, the farm has grown to almost 6,000 hectares in total: equally in Kherson and Zhytomyr regions. Since 2011, the family has been restoring irrigation from the very beginning, and as of February 24, 2022, 1,500 hectares were already under irrigation. The company grew grain crops and potatoes, including chips. They built 2 potato storage facilities with a total capacity of 22,000 tons.

On the first day of the war, the company's facilities in Kherson region were occupied: the farmer lost property, laboratory equipment and machinery worth almost UAH 260 million.

“In February 2022, we moved all the machinery to the left bank of Kherson region to start the potato season, but unfortunately, everything was lost: combines, planters, very expensive specialized equipment. There are still 1,500 hectares of restored modern irrigation. Most of the farm is now under occupation, and the debts have remained with us,” said Serhiy Rybalko, the Head of Adelaide Farm.

The company was relocated to Zhytomyr region, where they established a branch back in 2006. They began to restore the farm and employed 22 workers from Kherson region who managed to leave. In total, the company now employs 75 people.

The farmer explains that the main problem that immediately arose was the debt on loans taken out by the Kherson enterprise before the full-scale invasion.

“Before the war, we actively invested in the development of infrastructure, which is now all occupied, and the loan amounts are significant and their servicing and repayment is now an unbearable burden. In 2023, virtually no one worked in the occupied territory, in 2024, farms with Russian registration came and tried to sign lease agreements with people, cultivate land, and manage it, while we have to continue paying back the loans,” said Serhii Rybalko.

To help such businesses, the UAC experts, with the support of the USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity in Ukraine (AGRO), developed amendments to the legislation as part of a joint project on legal and other expert support for agricultural producers affected by the hostilities or temporary occupation of Russia. After they were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, relocated businesses, including agricultural ones, were able to extend the loans granted under the 5-7-9% program until the end of 2025.

Thus, thanks to the CMU Resolution No. 310 as of March 22, 2024, Adelaide Farm managed to extend “the Kherson loans” on preferential terms for another two years and focus its resources on the full development of the relocated enterprise in Zhytomyr region. As of the date of the resolution, the total amount of such loans subject to prolongation in the country was over UAH 600 million.

“I am grateful to the USAID (AGRO) Program and the Ukrainian Agri Council for supporting the farm in difficult times. In November 2023, project experts began to raise the issue of relocated enterprises, and thanks to joint efforts, we have a good result for Adelaide and other affected enterprises. For us, this is an opportunity to develop the farm in Zhytomyr region, to pay back “the Kherson loans”, and to restore our life's work. We are working to win,” the farmer summarized.

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