Ukraine has established the ‘Association of Water Users Organizations’ (Association of WUOs), which aims to unite the efforts of agricultural producers to develop irrigation and restore reclamation infrastructure. The public presentation of the Association, which took place on November 22, 2024, with the support of the USAID Harvest Program, brought together agricultural producers, representatives of Water Users Organizations (WUOs), government agencies, and the international donor community to discuss the necessary initiatives to support WUOs and advocate for the implementation of water reclamation reform in Ukraine. 

“Land reclamation reform is about ensuring national and global food security by preserving and increasing agricultural production on reclaimed lands. Water Users Organizations play an important role in the reform process. Gradually, Ukrainian agricultural producers unite and create WUOs, demonstrating good examples of successful reform implementation. They upgrade pumping stations using advanced technologies at minimal cost. There should be more and more examples like this,” emphasized Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy.

The mandate of the newly created Association of WUOs includes the following areas of activity: ensuring representation of WUOs in lawmaking; advocacy of WUOs' interests in state and local authorities; providing comprehensive legal support and capacity development to existing WUOs; and assisting farmers' groups aiming to establish WUOs.

“We expect the Association of WUOs to become a catalyst for accelerating the reform of irrigation and drainage systems. USAID's Harvest Program support will enable the Association to enlarge the WUOs community across the country, and enable them to speak with one voice in advocating for changes that will benefit the entire agricultural sector,” said Matthew Weber, USAID Harvest Activity Chief of Party.

The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and the critical reduction of irrigated land amid further climate change require the creation of conditions for rapid and powerful irrigation recovery and development. Without this, according to current forecasts, half of Ukraine's agricultural land will become insufficient for farming by 2050 - almost 20 million hectares of agricultural land. It is impossible to solve this problem only with state resources - billions of UAH of private investment in infrastructure restoration are needed.

According to Dmytro Kokhan, executive director of the Association of WUOs and Deputy Chairman of the UAC, the Law of Ukraine “On Water Users Organizations and Stimulation of Hydrotechnical Land Reclamation” created incentives and tools for private investment in land reclamation - farmers were granted the right to take ownership of state, communal and ownerless reclamation networks and modernize them. However, the process of transferring property is significantly delayed and in some cases is subject to significant obstacles. In the third year after the start of the reform, only two WUOs have received property. Therefore, the primary task of the Association is to realize the legal rights of the WUOs and transfer them to the management of reclamation networks.

“About 150 farmers together have already formed 52 WUOs, but this is only the beginning - there should be thousands of such farmers. Agriculture is a key sector of the country's economy, so we all need to unite and finally launch the reform process, as the effective functioning of the WUOs will lead to a significant increase in agricultural production and strengthen the economy of Ukraine,” said Dmytro Kokhan.

First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotskyi in his speech also emphasized that a separate state support program is in place to support the reform. Under the program, farmers can receive compensation of up to 50% of the cost of restoring and constructing of reclamation systems. The amount of assistance is up to UAH 26,500 per 1 hectare of cultivated land subject to hydrotechnical reclamation.

The initiative to create a national representative body came out of a meeting of the WUOs in Odesa organized by the USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity in Ukraine (AGRO) earlier this year. The USAID AGRO Program is actively helping WUOs improve irrigation and drainage systems in Ukrainian fields by providing them with material support: durable pipelines, efficient irrigation machines, energy-efficient pumps, and other equipment. USAID AGRO, together with the UAC and other international partners, has also contributed to the development of the Strategy for Irrigation and Drainage Development in Ukraine, the Law on WUOs, and the WUOs Establishment Guide.

To learn more about the criteria for establishing a WUOs, please refer to the WUOs Establishment Guide.