The National Agrarian Academy of Sciences (NAAS) calls on the current government and the State Property Fund (SPF) of Ukraine to engage in a constructive dialogue on agricultural land that is under the Academy’s jurisdiction.
This was stated at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency by Valeriy Adamchuk, Chief Scientific Secretary of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, Director of the Institute of Mechanics and Automation of Agricultural Production, Doctor of Technical Sciences.
He reminded that NAAS is a state self-governing scientific organization that includes 82 scientific institutions, including eight national research centers, 32 research institutes, 39 research stations, the Askania Nova Biosphere Reserve, and 91 legal entities, including state-owned enterprises. Out of a total of 175 legal entities, 12 are currently under occupation, eight are in bankruptcy, and seven state-owned enterprises are inactive.
“As of January 1, 2025, NAAS has fulfilled its obligations to the state, which should have preceded the optimization of the land plots that were and are on the balance sheet of the academy. If last year we had 462 thousand hectares of land, then after fulfilling the relevant government orders, 210 thousand hectares were transferred to the State Property Fund. Thus, NAAS has 276.7 thousand hectares in use, including 217 thousand hectares of arable land,” the representative of the Presidium of the Academy emphasized.
Adamchuk emphasized that the SPF has initiated the preparation of a draft order of the Cabinet of Ministers, which provides for the withdrawal of land not only from NAAS research farms but also from research institutions and their transfer to the permanent use of the State Enterprise “Reserve”. He believes that this will lead to the deprivation of land for scientific institutions, which will be left with only the buildings and territories on which they are located. At the same time, all issues related to the establishment of experiments and breeding work are under threat. Scientific institutions and the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences held relevant meetings, discussed the situation regarding the SPF’s intentions to seize 135,000 hectares from the National Academy of Sciences and sent relevant appeals to the authorities.
The Chief Scientific Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences drew attention to the fact that Ukraine opened its borders in the face of a full-scale invasion and abolished control systems for the unimpeded importation of all components of agricultural production: imported fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, machinery, fuel and lubricants, etc. Instead, Europe is in no hurry to open its market to Ukrainian agricultural products. Such dependence on imports, especially in times of war, creates high risks for the agricultural country and its food security.
According to Adamchuk, the NAAS agricultural land in relation to the land of Ukraine is less than 0.5% and its withdrawal will not bring super-effects to the state. In addition, he stressed that the SPF has not yet released information on the privatization and its effectiveness of the agricultural land of the Academy, which was previously transferred to the state.
Oleksandr Korniychuk, Director of the Institute of Feed and Agriculture of Podillia, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, said that the institute is located in Vinnytsia and has accumulated 1669 hectares of land over the years, including about 180 hectares of forest plantations. All the land is used for scientific research, in particular, research on the creation of new varieties, the development of new technologies, in particular, in seed production. The Institute has created about 210 varieties, 130 of which are currently included in the State Register of Plants Suitable for Distribution in Ukraine. The Institute breeds 30 different crops and is a leading institution specializing in the development of fodder production.
Korniichuk noted that the institute’s scientists provide advisory services in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, and Ternopil regions. In Vinnytsia region alone, there are about 274 individual farmers, about 2.4 thousand farmers, about 800 medium and large farms, and agricultural holdings that use the services of scientists.
“It is important for the institute to preserve the land resource in the amount that the institution has today. Limiting it will reduce the amount of scientific work. In general, all this will lead to large losses for our country in the future. The main task that we see today is to create new innovations, disseminate them and implement them in agricultural production,” he said and called on the SPF and the Cabinet of Ministers to review the draft decisions and preserve the land resource for scientific institutions, and to enable the retention of labor collectives.
Korniichuk emphasized that the 210 thousand hectares of land that belonged to the National Academy of Sciences transferred to the SPFU have not been fully utilized. Currently, about 40 thousand hectares are up for auction. The state has not yet received the expected result.
“The land is empty, it does not bring profit, and thus loses its main efficiency, let’s say, soil fertility,” the scientist emphasized.
Vitaliy Kabanets, Director of the Institute of Agriculture of the North East of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, noted that his research institution and its research enterprises are the only elite pig producer in the region. The institute owns 287 hectares of land where it breeds buckwheat and hemp. After conducting a survey of a number of crop and livestock farms, the Institute compared them and its performance and concluded that it was an efficient farm. The scientific institution pays taxes to the state and pays UAH 9 thousand for renting 1 hectare, and its research farms pay UAH 6-6.5 thousand per 1 hectare, while the figure for commercial agricultural enterprises is UAH 5-7 thousand per 1 hectare.
He expressed concern about the fate of the herd raised by the institute, because if 100% of the arable land is seized from the institute, the feed base for animals will completely disappear.
Kabanets noted that any reform should be clear: it should have a beginning, an algorithm of actions and a predictable result. Before implementing it, the problem should be discussed and compromises should be sought so that the whole country can get a positive result.
Nataliia Buniak, director of the Nosivka Breeding and Research Station of the Myronivka Institute of Wheat of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, said that the station has been operating in Chernihiv Oblast for 114 years. It specializes in breeding rye, oats, barley, and perennial grasses. Over the past five years, it has included 19 varieties in the State Register of Varieties Suitable for Distribution in Ukraine. As of January 1, 2025, the institution is represented in the State Register by 45 varieties in 13 crops.
At the same time, the state allocated UAH 611 thousand for the maintenance of the Nosivka station in 2021 and UAH 348 thousand in 2023. The institution, in turn, has transferred UAH 158 million to the state’s special funds over five years, an average of UAH 31.6 million per year, of which UAH 24.2 million in taxes were paid annually. In 2024, this amount amounted to UAH 5.7 million, which averaged UAH 5.8 million per hectare with a minimum tax liability of UAH 1.3 million. In 2018-2024, the station spent about UAH 95 million on science and at the same time provided farmers with high-quality seeds.
In January 2025, the Nosivka breeding and research station, like all agricultural research institutions, passed state certification. Its team hopes that all misunderstandings will be resolved through constructive discussions. Scientists will remain with the accumulated land and will be able to continue to provide producers with quality seeds, which help them to finance their work and maintain the land they use.
Valeriy Adamchuk, Chief Scientific Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, and the heads of scientific institutions hope to have a constructive discussion with the government and the SPF before any decisions are made.
IMC Agro Holding started the 2025 spring sowing campaign on April 16 and plans to plant 64.8 thou hectares of corn and 24.9 thou hectares of sunflower, the company’s press service reports.
“Despite the rainy and cold start to spring, as well as frequent air raids, thanks to timely tillage operations in the fall of 2024, the company managed to start the current year’s sowing campaign on time,” said Bohdan Kryvitsky, Chief Operating Officer of IMC.
He expressed confidence that due to the quality upgrade of equipment, IMC will be able to meet the optimal deadlines.
“All inventories have been purchased and delivered, the machinery is in good working order, and all production personnel are ready to lay the foundation for the upcoming spring crops,” Mr. Krivitsky emphasized.
As reported, in the fall of 2024, IMC sowed winter wheat on an area of 20.7 thou hectares, which is about 17% of the company’s land bank.
IMC Agro Holding is an integrated group of companies operating in Sumy, Poltava and Chernihiv regions (north and center of Ukraine) in the crop production, elevators and warehouses segments. The company has a land bank of about 120 thousand hectares and storage capacities of 554 thousand tons, with a harvest of 1.002 million tons in 2023.
In January-September 2024, IMC increased its revenue to $140.8 million, up 43% compared to the same period in 2023. The increase in normalized EBITDA in January-September 2024, as well as the increase in net profit in the agricultural holding, was attributed to higher sales volumes and higher grain prices.
Tobacco manufacturer JTI Ukraine (Kremenchuk, Poltava region), a member of the Japan Tabacco Inc. group of companies, will pay dividends of UAH 276 million, according to a decision made by the general meeting on April 10.
“Dividends are to be paid in monthly installments within six months from the date of the decision. The method of payment of dividends is directly to the shareholder by transferring these funds by the company in US dollars to the shareholder’s cash account – JT International Holding B.V. (Netherlands),” the company reported in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
It is noted that the dividend payment period is set from April 26 to October 8 this year.
The amount of dividends in foreign currency to be paid will be determined at the commercial rate of the authorized bank on the date of purchase of foreign currency. In case of payment of dividends from own funds in foreign currency, the recalculation is carried out at the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Ukraine on the date of payment.
According to the YouControl system, JT International Ukraine increased its net profit by 8.0% to UAH 981.21 million in 2024, while its revenue increased by 17.0% to UAH 6 billion 748.22 million.
JT International Holding B.V. owns 100% of the company.
PJSC Ukrnafta has joined the UN Global Compact, said Sergiy Koretsky, CEO of the company.
“An important milestone in the history of Ukrnafta – the company has joined the UN Global Compact in Ukraine, the local network of the largest global initiative that unites the world’s and Ukraine’s leading companies around common values of sustainable development,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
According to Koretsky, a modern company in the modern world must understand its responsibility to both society and the environment and strictly adhere to the highest standards in its work.
“The partnership with the UN Global Compact in Ukraine will help Ukrnafta to strictly follow its 10 principles to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and contribute to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to build a strong, sustainable and responsible society,” explained the CEO, adding that these are human rights protection, fair labor principles, environmental standards and zero tolerance for corruption.
He emphasized that by doing so, Ukrnafta has once again confirmed the course it has set after the transition to state control: it operates transparently, develops international partnerships, implements the highest OECD corporate governance standards and adheres to global ESG standards.
In January-March 2025, the real gross domestic product (GDP) of Ukraine grew by 1.1% compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Monthly Economic Monitoring of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER).
“The indicators for GDP, industry, construction and a number of other sectors of the economy published by the State Statistics Service allowed the IER experts to refine the estimate of real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2025. According to our estimates, real GDP grew by 1.2% in January and 0.7% in February,” the IER press service said on Tuesday.
It is noted that better access to electricity in March and a gradual increase in demand were the main reasons for a certain improvement in the economic situation in March. According to the IER, real GDP grew by 1.3% in March.
Value added in agriculture declined by about 3% y-o-y in March, which is in line with the revised estimate for February. The IER explained that this was mainly due to a decline in livestock production in households. As before, the advance of Russian troops led to a decrease in production near the front line.
“According to our estimates, real gross value added (GVA) in industry grew by 2.5% yoy in March, slightly faster than the revised 1.8% in February. Moderate growth in domestic demand and exports supported the increase in production, although Russian attacks continued to have a negative impact on economic activity. For example, in March, attacks on such major cities as Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Kharkiv intensified,” the Institute added.
Production in the mining industry in March, according to the IER, decreased by more than 3% compared to March 2024, primarily due to the temporary occupation of several coal mines in Donetsk region by Russian troops and attacks on gas production. Real GVA in the electricity sector decreased by almost 5%, due to Russian attacks.
The IER emphasized that it also revised its estimate of growth in trade to 0.7% in February (compared to February-2024). The organization hopes that in March, growth will remain close to the same level – 1.2%.
“This will continue to reflect the trend of increasing the share of direct sales in trade, which leads to a decrease in wholesale turnover. According to our estimates, real GVA in transportation in March declined by 6%, which is close to our revised estimate for February. A deeper slowdown in rail freight transportation due to cyberattacks offset slightly faster growth in other transportation segments. The impact of the suspension of gas transit also remained,” the IER emphasized.
As for inflation, the IER estimates its growth at 14.6% yoy in March compared to 13.4% in February. One of the main factors behind this acceleration was a 45% increase in average egg prices compared to the low base of last year, while in February prices were close to last year’s levels (2% higher than in the previous year). However, inflationary pressures were also supported by traditional factors, such as rising labor costs, higher costs of stable energy supplies, last year’s poor harvest, and the approximation of domestic prices for a number of agricultural products to world prices (due to the removal of export barriers that previously kept domestic prices lower).
As reported, the NBU has downgraded its forecast for Ukraine’s economic growth this year to 3.1% from 3.6% in its previous January macroeconomic forecast, next year from 4.0% to 3.7%, and in 2027 from 4.2% to 3.9%.
According to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko on March 18, gross domestic product (GDP) growth in January-February 2025 is estimated at 1.1%.
Earlier, on February 28, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its forecast for Ukraine’s economic growth in 2025, lowering it by 0.5 percentage points (p.p.) from its previous forecast to 2-3%. Also, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has downgraded its forecasts for Ukrainian GDP growth in 2025 from 4.7% to 3.5%, the World Bank from 6.5% to 2%, and the National Bank of Ukraine from 4.1% to 3.6%, but the state budget for 2025 is based on a 2.7% GDP growth forecast.
In addition, ICU Investment Group has lowered its forecast for Ukraine’s GDP growth from 3.4% to 3% in 2025.
In January-March this year, DTEK Energy’s machine builders manufactured and repaired nearly 806 units of mining equipment, including three new shearers for mining operations.
According to the energy holding in a press release on Thursday, the machine builders also provided the mines with more than 527,000 spare parts and components.
“We have completed this heating season and are already preparing a more reliable support for the next winter. To do this, power engineers continue to restore the power plant 24/7, miners provide fuel for thermal generation, and machine builders support them with all the necessary equipment,” said Alexander Fomenko, CEO of DTEK Energy.
According to the report, DTEK Energy’s miners commissioned the first three new coal faces in January-March.
As reported, in 2024, the company’s investments in Ukrainian coal mining amounted to UAH 7.5 billion, and over the past three years (2022-2024) – UAH 18 billion. The funds were allocated for the construction and repair of capital mine workings, completion of coal longwalls, mine tunneling equipment, underground mine transport and production capacity support projects.
“DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. The company’s installed capacity in thermal generation amounted to 13.3 GW as of January 2022. The company has established a full production cycle in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering and maintenance of mine equipment.
