The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and with financial support from the Norwegian government, is launching a programme to support rural communities in frontline regions with a total budget of $4 million.
According to a publication on the ministry’s website, the project will cover more than 6,000 rural households in the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions.
The project is scheduled to start in the spring of 2026. Registration of participants will be carried out by local communities.
“The implementation of this programme will make it possible to combine operational support for affected communities with the restoration of the production potential of the agricultural sector in frontline regions. It is important that the participant selection mechanism involves local communities, which will ensure the targeted and transparent provision of assistance,” said Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Denys Bashlyk in the statement.
As noted by the Ministry of Economy, priority support will be provided to the most vulnerable families and farmers, in particular internally displaced persons and people who have returned home. The assistance is aimed at ensuring food production and creating conditions for farmers to resume profitable activities related to growing crops and raising livestock. In the Mykolaiv region, assistance will also be provided to restore access to agricultural land contaminated with explosive objects.
The programme plans to provide vegetable seeds and potatoes to more than 4,000 rural households. Another 1,900 livestock farms will receive sets of day-old poultry, as well as cash assistance for feed and veterinary services. Individual support for small farmers registered in the State Agrarian Register (DAR) is also planned in the form of greenhouses, irrigation systems, water storage facilities, vouchers and technical assistance.
The head of the FAO office in Ukraine, Shakhnoza Muminova, noted that combining agricultural support with restoring access to land makes it possible to remove key constraints to farmers’ return to full-fledged activity.
According to Norwegian Minister of International Development Asmund Aukrust, the war continues to undermine agricultural production, posing risks to food security, which is why his country supports the UN’s efforts to help Ukrainian farmers.
In total, since the start of the full-scale aggression, Norway has provided approximately $14.8 million through the FAO to support the restoration of agriculture and land demining in Ukraine.
