The Ukrainian Agri Council, with the support of the USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity in Ukraine (AGRO), organized a webinar "Available Support Programs for War-Affected Agricultural Producers" for representatives of agricultural enterprises affected by hostilities or temporary occupation by the Russian Federation.

The event was attended by more than 180 representatives of Ukrainian agricultural enterprises. More than 1,100 viewers watched the webinar on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian Agri Council.

Today, it is extremely important to help farmers overcome the difficulties associated with military operations and ensure sustainable recovery and development of their agricultural enterprises.

"Within a joint project of the USAID AGRO Program and the UAC methodological recommendations for documenting losses of agricultural enterprises as a result of military aggression were developed. Experts provided more than 300 consultations to affected agricultural producers. We have also developed an Interactive Map of Destruction of Ukraine's Agricultural Sector, which allows to record crimes and losses. This map is a prototype of the future registry and will help to compensate for these losses in the future," said Serhiy Kubakh, Land Reform Officer of the USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity in Ukraine (AGRO).

In addition to international assistance, government decisions have been made to help farmers in the de-occupied territories and war-affected agricultural producers. Taras Vysotsky, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, spoke about the state support for these categories of agricultural enterprises.

"The 5-7-9 affordable lending program is working. It is for farmers in the de-occupied territories that there is a preferential lending rate of 3% for working capital and 1% for investment purposes. The Government is also working to provide preferential loans to relocated enterprises from the temporarily occupied territories. I would also like to add that the 5-7-9 program will be extended for all farmers at least until March 2025," said Taras Vysotskyi.

According to him, the special fund of the state budget for 2024 already provides almost UAH 800 million, another USD 50 million is provided by the World Bank to help farmers in the de-occupied territories.

"Farmers who cultivate up to 120 hectares will receive a non-refundable one-time assistance of UAH 8,000 per hectare. Companies that keep up to 100 cows will receive UAH 7,000 per cow. We are currently finalizing the procedures and in May-June it will be possible to apply for subsidies through the State Agrarian Register. Unfortunately, farmers from the areas where active hostilities are taking place will not be able to receive this support. However, we are working to help these categories of farmers with compensation for the cost of rent. We are also working on establishing preferential railroad tariffs for the export of grain, oilseeds and their processed products from the de-occupied territories," explained Taras Vysotskyi.

Dmytro Kokhan, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council, presented the project "Supporting agricultural MSMEs affected by active hostilities or Russia’s temporary occupation" implemented by the UAC and supported by the USAID AGRO Program.

"Our project is aimed at providing legal and advisory assistance to agricultural producers. The goal of the project is to protect the rights, assets and legitimate interests of affected farmers. We also analyze the problems of MSMEs and try to solve them together with the government during working groups. As a part of the project, we have opened a free consultation line specifically for affected agricultural producers, where they receive advice on land, tax, banking, demining, etc. In addition, we conduct free trainings for agricultural producers," he said.

For the affected farmers, the Victory Harvest charitable foundation provides free temporary use of agricultural machinery for sowing and harvesting.

"The application period for the spring sowing campaign will start on February 19, 2024. The priority will be given to farmers from the de-occupied territories and territories with possible hostilities (except Donetsk and Luhansk regions). We provide equipment to farms that are legal entities with a land bank of up to 1,500 hectares. However, this criterion is not relevant for the regions affected by the war. We are planning to expand the criteria, because enterprises located close to the front line may officially have 2,000 hectares, but cultivate 200-300 hectares due to mined or occupied areas," said Yulia Zalozneva, director of the Charitable Organization "ICF " Victory Harvest".

The international humanitarian organization Mercy Corps has also launched a separate program to support and develop small, small and medium-sized farms. USD 11 million will be allocated for grant assistance to these farms in 12 regions of Ukraine, with the following priorities: Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.

"We have two components of the program. The first one is to support the restoration and development of local and internally displaced small farms. Financial support is provided to farms that cultivate less than 10 hectares of land and averages USD3,000. This assistance can be provided for the purchase of any equipment, livestock, or for the restoration of greenhouses. The second component is financial assistance in the implementation of business ideas. We plan to help 100 small and medium-sized businesses. The average grant size will be USD75,000 dollars. To receive it, it is important to choose the right and useful business idea for the community where the project will be implemented. We consider each application individually. I would add that the applicant must finance up to 50% of their idea. It can be 5% or 10%. This can be funds invested in the development of this idea earlier," explained Olha Dvoiehlasova, Project Manager for Agriculture Support in Ukraine at Mercy Corps.

A record of the webinar with a more detailed overview of the above-mentioned available support programs for war-affected agricultural producers can be viewed here.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC), with the support of the USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity in Ukraine (AGRO), is implementing a joint project to provide legal and other expert support to agricultural producers affected by hostilities or temporary occupation by the Russian Federation.

The project has developed guidelines for the proper recording of crimes and losses to agricultural enterprises https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XDL55-uTEjkq38h0D4GFfYEc2sWi9GsP. An algorithm for field recording of the destruction of agricultural enterprises was presented, and the Interactive Map of Destruction of Ukraine's Agricultural Sector was created https://www.agrirecovery.com.ua. Legal and consulting support for affected agricultural producers is also available - +38 067 503 19 08.

This project is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity in Ukraine (AGRO) Program, implemented by Chemonics International. The authors' opinions do not necessarily reflect the official views of USAID or the U.S. Government.