Over the two years of the updated state support program, Ukrainian agricultural producers have purchased domestic agricultural machinery and equipment totaling over 10.5 billion UAH (including VAT), according to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
According to the ministry’s report, between April 2024 and February 2026, 8,982 enterprises took advantage of the opportunity for partial reimbursement of costs (25%). During this period, farmers purchased 14,611 units of equipment, and the total amount of funds disbursed by the state reached $2.2 billion.
“For farmers, this is a beneficial tool for modernizing their equipment fleet, and for manufacturers, it means an increase in orders. Since April 2024, the list of equipment eligible for state compensation has grown more than 14-fold. Funding for the program has already been allocated for 2026,” noted Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev.
The 2026 budget allocates $1.8 billion for the implementation of the state program. The first $126.1 million has already been disbursed to 382 manufacturers who submitted applications this winter. Farms in the Ternopil, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, and Vinnytsia regions were the most active buyers of equipment.
The official list of eligible equipment currently includes 14,425 items from 166 Ukrainian manufacturers. The ministry also noted that, starting in April 2026, the compensation rate for farmers in frontline areas has been increased to 40%.
The Cabinet of Ministers has introduced a military risk insurance mechanism for farmers, which provides for reimbursement from the budget of up to 60% of the insurance premium paid, according to Taras Vysotsky, First Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
“Access to agricultural insurance in wartime is becoming not just a financial tool, but a key condition for economic stability. That is why the government has introduced a new mechanism: the state reimburses up to 60% of the insurance premium for farmers in frontline communities and up to 45% for other producers,” he wrote on his Facebook page following a meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector.
The Deputy Minister noted that agricultural processing companies are currently facing not only military threats but also challenging weather conditions, such as drought or spring frosts. Due to this combination of factors, the cost of insurance services in the sector remains high.
Vysotsky noted that the Ministry of Economy’s strategic goal is to create a market-oriented system that will combine private insurance, reinsurance, and state support. The ministry is currently consulting with businesses to determine acceptable insurance rates, remove barriers to access to financing, and compile a list of risks that remain uninsured.
“We are ready to carefully consider and gradually implement the solutions and proposals developed by the business community. It is precisely this kind of dialogue that allows us to shape state policy based on the real needs of the economy,” the deputy minister concluded.
As reported, in March 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 1541, which expanded the military risk insurance program. The maximum amount of insurance premium compensation for businesses was increased from UAH 1 million to UAH 3 million, and the deadline for submitting a claim for payment was reduced to 31 days after the contract is signed. For enterprises operating in frontline regions, compensation for damaged property is available up to UAH 30 million.
The 2026 state budget allocates over UAH 2 billion to support the agricultural sector and related insurance programs, of which UAH 1.8 billion is earmarked to compensate for the cost of Ukrainian-made agricultural machinery under the “Made in Ukraine” policy, as well as separate allocations for partial compensation of insurance premiums for winter crop producers and agricultural processors.
Farmers currently have sufficient fuel reserves for the planting season, enough to cover their needs for three to six weeks, said Oleksiy Sobolev, Ukraine’s Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
“Regarding the planting season. We now know that both diesel and fuel are secured for the planting season. We have consulted with the market—fuel reserves are sufficient for three to six weeks,” he said during “Government Hour” in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, according to a correspondent for the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
“We will continue to monitor the situation,” the minister added.
As reported, some experts suggested that problems with oil and petroleum product supplies to the market caused by the war between Israel and the U.S. against Iran could lead not only to a significant increase in the price of petroleum products but also to shortages in certain segments, primarily diesel fuel.
The cost of this year’s sowing campaign for Ukrainian farmers will increase by about 15% compared to last year and will amount to about UAH 700 billion ($17 billion), said Denis Marchuk, deputy head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (VAR).
“The difficulty is that this season’s sowing campaign will be more expensive. In total, it will cost Ukrainian producers around UAH 700 billion to carry out this work. Accordingly, this will be reflected in the final price of food products,” the expert said.
According to him, the main reasons for the increase in prices are the rise in fuel prices (by 10-15%), mineral fertilizers (by 20%), plant protection products, and seeds. This will lead to an increase in the price of the final food product by 3-5%.
Marchuk also added that due to weather conditions and snow cover in some regions, sowing will begin with a delay of about two weeks. At the same time, work is already actively underway in the south of the country.
The structure of crops will remain largely traditional: sunflower, corn, spring wheat, barley, soybeans, and buckwheat. At the same time, due to climate change, farmers are increasingly experimenting with niche crops, in particular chickpeas.
The deputy head of the UAA emphasized the importance of government support for agricultural producers, especially in frontline regions, where working conditions are the most difficult.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has completed the distribution of 615 modular grain storage facilities to small and medium-sized farms in seven frontline areas, the FAO press service reported on Facebook.
The FAO specified that this initiative was implemented with the support of the governments of Canada and Japan in close cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture. The FAO is convinced that the program contributes to stabilizing the work of farms, preventing post-harvest losses, and ensuring the continuity of agricultural production.
Farmers could apply to participate in the program through the State Agrarian Register (DAR). In 2025, the FAO received 747 applications from producers who cultivate between 200 and 1,000 hectares. After verification, 615 farms were selected to receive modular grain storage facilities. The distribution took place in seven regions: Chernihiv (62), Dnipropetrovsk (116), Kharkiv (124), Kherson (14), Kirovohrad (84), Mykolaiv (128), and Odesa (87).
This initiative is part of a broader Grain Storage Support Strategy that FAO and partners have been implementing since 2022 in response to a critical shortage of storage capacity. During this time, Ukrainian agricultural producers have received a wide range of storage solutions – more than 37,000 grain sleeves, 105 sets of loading and unloading equipment, and a total of 859 modular grain storage facilities. Collectively, this support has enabled farmers across Ukraine to preserve more than 8 million tons of grain and sustain agricultural production in wartime conditions.
Despite significant progress, the lack of storage infrastructure remains a key constraint to the recovery of the agricultural sector, especially in frontline and recently liberated areas, the FAO stressed. As preparations for the 2026 season get underway, the sustainable development of modern and secure grain storage facilities will remain critical to protecting livelihoods and preserving national food production.
“For farmers, the ability to safely store their harvest is not just about grain. It’s about peace of mind, about the confidence that months of hard work will not be lost. These storage facilities give Ukrainian farmers what is especially needed today in times of war: stability and the ability to look to the future with hope. We will continue to support them on this path,” assured Shakhnoza Muminova, Head of the FAO Office in Ukraine.
FAO, together with its partners, plans to provide support to approximately 100 more farmers in early 2026, but the scale of needs far exceeds available resources. Strengthened cooperation and continued active involvement of the international community will be key to enabling farmers to withstand ongoing challenges and contribute to Ukraine’s long-term recovery, the organization believes.
Slovakia and a number of EU countries bordering Ukraine are advocating the creation of a special fund to compensate their farmers for losses caused by the growth in imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. This was announced by Slovak Minister of Agriculture Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) following a meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture in Brussels, according to the TASR news agency.
According to him, the European Commission had previously talked about a 25% increase in quotas for Ukrainian goods, but in reality the figures are much higher — “for honey and sugar, the increase is 400-500%.”
“One problem is quantity, another is product quality and safety. European farmers are required to comply with strict rules on fertilizers, pesticides, and EU standards, while in Ukraine such standards are often absent,” Takáč emphasized.
The minister noted that it was Ukraine’s neighboring countries, which experience the main influx of products, that approached the European Commission with this initiative, while Western European countries often benefit from cheaper imports and do not feel the pressure.
Takach suggested that Slovakia would not be able to “achieve 100% success” in the negotiations, but he is counting on a compromise solution.
“In the new EU financial plan and within the framework of the common agricultural policy, I see an opportunity to create a fund specifically for countries bordering Ukraine. This fund should compensate our farmers and processors for their losses,” he said, adding that Slovakia will seek support through the government and the prime minister.
According to him, agreements on this have already been reached with his Polish counterpart. The issue of increased quotas for Ukrainian agricultural products will also be discussed during the upcoming joint meeting of the governments of Ukraine and Slovakia.
Since 2022, the EU has provided Ukraine with unprecedented access to the common market to support the economy in wartime. However, a number of Eastern European countries — Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Bulgaria — have repeatedly complained about the growing pressure on their producers of grain, sugar, and other crops.
