On Tuesday, June 18, the conference "Rebuilding Ukrainian Agriculture" was held in Brussels as a part of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture.

Representatives of the EU institutions, specialized associations of the EU members and Ukraine discussed the key instruments needed to restore and develop the Ukrainian agricultural sector more closely aligned with the EU structure, as well as a financing plan for Ukrainian agricultural producers, their access to the EU and global food markets, and agreed that Ukraine plays a special role in maintaining global food security and global agri-food supply.

According to the UAC Chairman, Andrii Dykun, one of the main instruments for the restoration and development of the agricultural sector in Ukraine are sanctions against Russian and Belarusian agricultural producers.

"Russia is using food as a weapon in the war with Ukraine. Firstly, they blocked the Black Sea so that Ukrainian farmers could not export agricultural products, and then they took away our market in China. In addition, today a lot of equipment, machinery, seeds, and technologies are supplied to Russia from the European Union. Russia invested millions of dollars to become independent in the food sector and develop its agricultural sector. Nowadays it depends on European technologies. Therefore, one of the ways to stop Russia is to impose a prohibition on the export of these goods from the EU," emphasized Andrii Dykun.

The UAC Chairman also explained to his European colleagues that Ukrainian farmers do not need subsidies from the EU, and that Ukraine's membership in the EU will only strengthen trade relations and global food security.

"Do not worry about your budget and tell your countries and farmers that Ukraine does not apply for subsidies. We need your support in weapons to defend the country, not subsidies for Ukrainian agribusiness, because it has always worked effectively without subsidies. We can increase soybean production for the EU, you can buy rapeseed from us for biofuel production. Ukraine can produce more than 10 million tonnes of sugar and sell it to the EU. Similarly, the dairy sector can be beneficial for both sides. The EU does not have the potential to grow the cattle breeding and dairy sector, while Ukraine does," explained Andrii Dykun.

The UAC Chairman thanked the organizers for the invitation and the opportunity to conduct a professional dialogue with representatives of the EU members, as it is important for Ukrainian agricultural producers and for global food security.

On June 25, Andrii Dykun, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council, took part in the third meeting of the parliamentary delegations of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland in Warsaw within the Lublin Triangle. The meeting resulted in the signing of the Declaration, which contains a number of important initiatives and appeals to the EU members and EU institutions. In particular, one of the points included in the Declaration was the restriction of access of Russian and Belarusian agricultural producers to advanced EU technologies and equipment.