“Pershe Travnia” Agri-LLC in Kherson region became the first farm in Ukraine to receive state compensation for humanitarian demining of agricultural land carried out before 2024. This became possible after more than two years of work on agreeing documents and overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. Throughout this time, the farm benefited from legal advice from experts at the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC).

As is known, on March 16, 2024, the Procedure for the Use of Budget Funds came into force, which provided compensation only for those agricultural producers who planned humanitarian demining. Those who had cleared their fields earlier — since the beginning of the full-scale invasion — were denied compensation. That is why the UAC experts, with the support of the AGRO Program funded by the US Government, initiated changes. On May 17, 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 580, which allowed farmers whose land had been demined by certified operators before April 15, 2024, to apply for compensation. After that, farms in the affected regions received the legal right to recover part of the costs of demining that had already been carried out.

Serhii Kosiuk, Head of “Pershe Travnia” Agri-LLC, noted:

"After the occupation, our fields were so contaminated that production there became impossible. In March 2023, we began working with Ukroboronservice, signing a contract for the demining of 1,470 hectares. We spent about UAH 8 million of our own funds. All contracts and acts of work performed were properly executed."

To receive compensation, enterprises must provide confirmation of all expenses and work performed for each field. This requires preparing a large package of documents. It was the UAC team that helped “Pershe Travnia” Agri-LLC go through the lengthy procedure and prove the farm's right to compensation.

"We were in constant contact with the UAC experts regarding compensation for demining. The lawyers explained what documents were missing and why there were delays, which allowed us to quickly finalize and submit the materials. The whole process took over two years, but the mechanism finally worked. Without the support of the UAC, this would hardly have been possible," added Serhii Kosiuk.

The UAC is ready to continue providing legal and other expert assistance to farmers affected by hostilities or occupation, in particular in matters of obtaining compensation for humanitarian demining.