During the round table "18 months of war. Losses of the agricultural sector and prospects for the industry's recovery", the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) released the results of a survey of agrarians in the de-occupied territories on their urgent problems and needs for the recovery of affected enterprises.

The survey was conducted within the framework of the project "Supporting agricultural MSMEs, affected by active hostilities or Russia’s occupation", which is being implemented by the UAC with the support of the USAID Agricultural Growing Rural Opportunities Activity (AGRO). The survey was conducted from September 4 to 14, 2023, by a questionnaire. It involved 63 micro, small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises affected by hostilities or temporary occupation, who were invited to the roundtable discussion. The land bank of the respondents is 123,000 hectares.

"It was important for us to identify the main problems of the de-occupied agricultural sector in order to develop options for their solution. Regarding regulatory issues, the UAC experts will provide legal advice line to farmers on these problematic issues, as well as prepare and propose legislative changes to the state authorities to their solution. In addition, based on our research, we will compile a list of material needs of the affected de-occupied agricultural enterprises to attract donors for their recovery," said Dmytro Kokhan, the UAC Deputy Chairman.

According to the survey, 59% of farms stopped operations due to occupation, while 25% did so due to fighting. Only 16% of farms operated continuously.

At the time of the survey, 38% of farms remained non-operational. Meanwhile, 45% of respondents reported that their farms had been restored, but only to less than half their capacity.

While under occupation, 79% of respondents reported that their property, machinery, and crops were destroyed or stolen. Another 40% said agricultural facilities were most affected, while 24% pointed to agricultural machinery. Additionally, 81% of the farmers surveyed indicated that their fields required demining.

Only 22% of respondents comprehensively documented their losses and damages and inventoried their destroyed assets. Half of the participants were only able to partially document their losses and damages, and 28% could not document them at all.

Regarding production, 20% of the surveyed households highlighted a lack of material resources as a primary concern, such as fuel, lubricants, plant protection products, and seeds. 16% of the farmers reported that their equipment was destroyed or stolen. A lack of funds for operations and a shortage of employees were challenges for 13% of the respondents.

Other production-related issues included a lack of bank loans (11% of respondents), absence of sales markets (10%), destroyed production facilities (9%), and insufficient storage facilities for agricultural produce (8%).

Regarding loans, 53% of respondents indicated that banks declined their loan requests because their businesses were in the combat zone. Borrowing is a crucial source of working capital for 51% of those surveyed, allowing them to buy necessary inputs to sustain operations. Likewise, 51% expressed a general need for funding, whether through preferential loans or grant support, to restore and maintain their operations. Clearly, funding was identified as a pressing need among the respondents.

Among other problems, to resume their businesses, farmers highlighted several needs: cessation of fighting (38%); demining of fields (30%); agricultural inputs (19%); increase in domestic prices for products (13%)

Additionally, 8% of respondents expressed a desire to address their previous loans through measures such as restructuring, prolongation, or deferred payments. A further 5% sought exemption from tax audits and desired tax benefits, and another 5% emphasized the importance of accessing a qualified workforce.

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The USAID Agricultural Growing Rural Opportunities Activity (AGRO) Program is a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), implemented by Chemonics International. The goal of the program is to accelerate economic development in Ukraine's most vulnerable rural communities by improving agricultural sector governance, which will lead to the development of more productive, modern, and profitable micro, small, and medium-sized agricultural enterprises (MSMEs). The objectives of the USAID AGRO Program are to improve productivity and market access in targeted value chains, and to improve support functions and the regulatory framework in the agricultural sector. The USAID AGRO Program will help increase agricultural MSMEs' incomes and access to finance and create a fair and transparent agricultural land market in Ukraine, which will reduce corruption in the agricultural sector. AGRO Facebook page.

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The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead development agency of the United States Government. USAID has been working with Ukraine since 1992, supporting Ukraine in strengthening its resilience to Russian aggression and advancing its democratic and economic development. Currently, there are 42 USAID programs in response to Ukraine's immediate needs and long-term development goals as an independent, sovereign, democratic, and prosperous country. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, USAID has provided $24.9 billion in total assistance to Ukraine, including $2.8 billion in humanitarian assistance and more than $2.3 billion in development assistance.