The UAC Chairman Andrii Dykun took part in the round table discussion "Challenges of small and medium-sized agricultural producers of Ukraine and forecasts for 2023", organized with the support of the European Union and the World Bank.

"The Ukrainian Agri Council includes 1,100 agricultural enterprises, 80% of which are cultivating from 1,000 to 2,000 hectares of land. Unfortunately, 400 enterprises are located in the occupied and de-occupied territories. The program "Affordable Loans 5-7-9%", which is supported by both the World Bank and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, really gives us the opportunity to survive today, but there is one point: this program practically does not work in the de-occupied territories. We are talking, in particular, about Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Banks do not want to work in the de-occupied territories because they see great risks there and are not interested in doing something there even with the help of state guarantees," said the UAC head.

He also addressed representatives of the World Bank, emphasizing agricultural producers with more than 500 hectares of land, which is why they are not eligible for assistance programs from international donors.

"I would like to take this opportunity to address the World Bank representatives. You have various support programs for agricultural producers, fertilizers, etc., but these programs are available to farmers with a land bank of up to 500 hectares. And what about farmers with 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 hectares, especially in the de-occupied territories, where the 5-7-9% state loan program does not work? August-September is the time of the sowing campaign. Some fields are mined, enterprises are destroyed, no one gives loans, and farmers do not even have the opportunity to sow winter crops: wheat, barley and rapeseed," said Dykun.

The UAC Chairman told the participants that the UAC has created its own fund, which raises funds and seeds to support colleagues and provide these enterprises with their own resources, because the agricultural sector is the foundation of the state economy and needs support.

"We are trying to buy seeds and distribute them to enterprises precisely because they do not fall under the 5-7-9% program. There are a lot of such enterprises. They can sow on fields that have not been mined, but they simply do not have the funds. They also don't have time to do it. If they don't sow during these two months, they will lose the next year," said the head of the UAC.

Demining also remains an important issue.

"There are many different platforms for discussion, but what have we done? We have purchased some equipment on our own, brought it to Ukraine, tried it out, and it works, so we are starting to make this equipment in Ukraine. It is needed a lot, because we are talking about millions of hectares of land. We created the first drawings, started the process, so we will be grateful to those who can join and help farmers," said Andrii Dykun.

Also, the UAC Chairman explained the position of the Union members on the land market reform and the norms that will come into force on January 1, 2024.

We, as the Ukrainian Agri Council, have supported the land market and will continue to support this reform, but we believe that the limit of 100 hectares should remain, because someone is fighting at the front, and someone is making money on it. The UAC participants whose enterprises are temporarily occupied and those in the de-occupied territories do not understand what the land market can be like during the wartime. We propose to continue the reform, but to leave the concentration of land in one hand up to 100 hectares for both individuals and legal entities until the end of martial law and for 2 years after it," said Andriy Dykun.

According to his words, some of the members of the UAC are currently serving in the Armed Forces. They are fighting in the East of Ukraine and do not understand how the land market can work and how they can participate in it if they are actually on the front line.

"Listening to your presentations today, we see and understand that Ukrainian farmers have no money. So, the question arises: who will buy the land? If it becomes cheaper, it will probably be profitable, but we are worried that some speculative capital will come in, or they will buy it for ‘black money’, since we still sell products under Form №2. And until this is put in order, we are afraid that very irreparable things will happen in the future," said the UAC Chairman.

Watch the full speech:

Audience: government officials, agricultural producers' and bank associations, international partners who help Ukraine.