Around $680 billion in financing annually is needed to transform global agrifood systems by 2030, but the effectiveness of international programs will depend not only on the amount of funding, but also on farmers’ and agribusinesses’ access to finance, markets and economic incentives.
According to SEEDS, financing issues were discussed in Rome during the FAO Global Conference “Actions in One Health in Agrifood Systems,” which took place on September 21–23 and was dedicated to implementing the One Health approach in agrifood systems.
According to FAO estimates, the annual financing requirement for the transformation of agrifood systems in low- and middle-income countries amounts to around $680 billion. Of this amount, approximately $425–426 billion should go directly to investments, with another approximately $255 billion allocated to social protection systems.
International expert on sustainable agriculture and agrifood systems and founder of Sapienza.media Kateryna Zvierieva, who participated in the conference, stressed that the volume of international financing alone does not guarantee results if resources do not reach direct producers.
“We can develop effective environmental and veterinary solutions, but they will not become widespread practice if the farmer does not have access to financing, sales markets and economic incentives for their implementation,” she said in a comment to SEEDS.
Rwanda became one example of effective fundraising. About $25 million in financing from the Pandemic Fund was accompanied by the mobilization of approximately another $160 million in additional resources and related investments. The program is aimed at strengthening epidemiological surveillance, early warning systems and coordination between human and animal health services. FAO, WHO and UNICEF are involved in its implementation.
During the conference, programs in Zimbabwe and Afghanistan were also discussed, where the One Health approach is used to combine veterinary safety, healthcare, food security and support for agricultural production. Participants stressed that animal diseases, climate risks and water-related problems often extend beyond individual states and require regional investment programs.
The reduction of international assistance remains a separate problem. Representatives of the European Commission drew attention to the need to involve the World Bank, IFC, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and private capital more broadly in financing, since grant resources are insufficient for a large-scale transformation of the agricultural sector.
For Ukraine, these approaches are particularly important due to the need to simultaneously restore agricultural production, infrastructure, the veterinary system and water resources, as well as adapt the sector to EU standards.
According to Zvierieva, international programs should be accessible not only to large institutions, but also directly to agricultural enterprises, cooperatives and small producers. Farmers, in her opinion, should be involved in the development of such programs already at the planning stage, since it is they who can assess the real cost of introducing new technologies and the economic risks for farms.
FAO also emphasizes that without the involvement of the private sector, financial institutions and direct producers, it will be impossible to overcome the global financing gap in agrifood systems.
Source: SEEDS — “$680 billion for the transformation of agrifood systems”
As of September 23, Ukrainian farmers had planted 741,400 hectares with winter grains, or 14.2% of the projected area, and 958,800 hectares with winter rapeseed, or 86.7% of the projection, according to the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
Specifically, 662,400 hectares (14.6% of the forecast) have been planted with wheat and triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye – IF-U), 53,100 hectares (8.9%) with barley, and 25,800 hectares (33.6%) with rye.
The largest areas of winter grains have been planted in the Mykolaiv region—101,000 hectares, including 79,000 hectares of wheat and triticale and 22,000 hectares of barley.
In the Poltava region, 91.3 thousand hectares have been planted, of which 87.3 thousand hectares are wheat and triticale, and 4 thousand hectares are rye.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, 86,300 hectares have been planted with winter grains, including 84,000 hectares of wheat and triticale, 2,100 hectares of barley, and 200 hectares of rye.
As of September 22, Ukrainian farmers had threshed 7 million hectares, or 61% of the projected area, according to the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
The gross harvest of grains and legumes totaled 32.95 million metric tons, with an average yield of 47 ts/ha.
Wheat harvests totaled 25.31 million metric tons from 5.11 million hectares at an average yield of 49.5 centners per hectare, while barley harvests totaled 6.39 million metric tons from 1.48 million hectares at a yield of 43.3 centners per hectare. The harvest of these crops is complete.
Peas were harvested at 812,200 metric tons from an area of 301,900 hectares, with an average yield of 26.9 centners per hectare; millet—62,200 metric tons from 26,900 hectares, with a yield of 23.2 centners per hectare; buckwheat—37,100 metric tons from 26,600 hectares at a yield of 13.9 centners per hectare, and corn—339,800 metric tons from 67,900 hectares at a yield of 50 centners per hectare.
Farmers in the southern and central regions harvested the largest volumes of grain. In the Odesa region, 4.83 million metric tons of grain were harvested from an area of 1.19 million hectares; in the Dnipropetrovsk region, 2.72 million metric tons from 663,300 hectares; and in the Kirovohrad region, 2.43 million metric tons from 561,000 hectares.
The highest average grain yields were recorded in farms in the Khmelnytskyi region (70.6 centners per hectare), the Sumy region (60.6 centners per hectare), and the Kyiv region (55.8 centners per hectare).
More than 6 million metric tons of oilseeds were harvested from approximately 2.4 million hectares. In particular, the rapeseed harvest has been completed, with 3.857 million metric tons harvested from 1.33 million hectares at a yield of 29 centners per hectare.
Sunflower seeds totaled 1.5 million metric tons from 756,200 hectares—or 14% of the projected area—at a yield of 19.8 centners per hectare.
Soybeans totaled 655,400 metric tons from 327,600 hectares—or 21% of the projected area—at a yield of 20 centners per hectare.
Farmers have also begun harvesting sugar beets. 19.3 thousand metric tons have been harvested from an area of 0.45 thousand hectares, with an average yield of 428.9 centners per hectare.
Italy is preparing the TERRA program, with a total budget of up to 105 million euros, aimed at expanding access to financing for Ukrainian micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the agri-food sector, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine following negotiations with the Italian side.
The program was presented during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Denys Bashlyk and Davide La Cecilia, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Special Representative for Ukraine’s Recovery. The parties identified support for small farmers and the development of agricultural cooperatives as key priorities for cooperation.
According to materials from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, TERRA Ukraine—Transforming and Empowering Resilient and Responsible Agribusiness—consists of two main components.
Up to 100 million euros are planned to be allocated to financial instruments managed by the Italian state-owned financial institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). The funds are to be used to mitigate risks for Ukrainian financial intermediaries and expand lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the agri-food sector. The financial component includes a counter-guarantee from the European Commission under the Ukraine Investment Framework.
An additional 5 million euros is earmarked for technical assistance and capacity building, with this part of the program to be implemented primarily in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The Italian side views TERRA not merely as a mechanism for providing financing. The program is intended to facilitate the modernization of Ukrainian agricultural enterprises, the adoption of European sanitary, environmental, and corporate standards, as well as the transition to a more sustainable model of agricultural production in line with the European Green Deal.
“For us, it is important not just to teach farmers to work together, but to create a practical model that will enable them to pool resources, produce large volumes of goods, and enter new markets. If this approach proves successful, it can be scaled up to all regions of Ukraine,” Bashlyk noted.
The Ukrainian side also hopes to draw on Italy’s experience in developing agricultural cooperation and bringing together small-scale producers for joint processing, logistics, and access to larger markets.
Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Carlo Formosa previously reported on September 3, 2026, that TERRA is being prepared as one of the new tools to support the Ukrainian agricultural sector. According to him, the program is primarily aimed at facilitating access to credit for agricultural SMEs.
At the same time, Italy is expanding its agricultural projects in the Odesa region. According to Italian officials, approximately 25 million euros have already been allocated in the region for agricultural projects, including the Pro.UKR programs, support for viticulture and winemaking through the FAO, and a 6-million-euro project to modernize irrigation systems in Tatarbunary and Kiliya. In addition, a 7-million-euro ROOTS project is being prepared between the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and the Odesa region.
Ukraine and Italy have agreed to expedite the organizational decisions necessary for the practical launch of TERRA. Specific dates for the start of funding disbursements to Ukrainian agricultural enterprises and the terms for obtaining loans have not yet been publicly announced.
As of August 24, the volume of lending to Ukraine’s agricultural sector had increased by 25 billion hryvnias compared to the same date in 2025—reaching 105 billion hryvnias, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky announced at a briefing on Friday.
“An additional 2 billion hryvnias in loans were issued over the past week. Overall, looking at the total as of today, the figure stands at 105 billion hryvnias as of August 24. This is 25 billion more than on the same date last year. Lending options are expanding,” he said.
As previously reported, according to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1012 dated August 13, 2026, agricultural producers are now able to obtain preferential loans under the government’s “5-7-9%” program for up to 90 million hryvnias to finance their operations, without the requirement that the funds be used for investment purposes.
Previously, loans to replenish working capital were capped at 5 million hryvnia.
As reported, the Ukrainian Maritime Corridor ceased operations on July 22 following enemy attacks. Farmers appealed to the government for assistance due to a sharp drop in market prices, difficulties with exporting their products, and the need for additional funds for storage.
Due to problems with storing and exporting the harvest caused by the closure of Black Sea ports, there is a risk that the planted area for the upcoming harvest could be reduced by 5–7 million hectares, said Taras Vysotsky, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food.
“The biggest challenge today is compensating for interest rates on loans. If we do not support the financial stability of farmers, there is a risk that the area sown for the upcoming harvest will be reduced by 5–7 million hectares,” the Ministry of Agrarian Policy’s press service quoted Vysotsky as saying during his meeting with the UN System Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, and the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
The minister emphasized that Ukraine currently faces two key challenges: preventing the spoilage of the harvest that has already been gathered, ensuring storage capacity, and providing farmers with working capital.
“According to our estimates, the storage capacity deficit could reach 11 million metric tons as early as this fall, and the funding requirement for this area is $44 million,” he noted.
According to Vysotsky, Ukraine has sent an official request to the European Union for the allocation of EUR220 million to compensate for interest rates on bank loans for farmers.
Another important topic of the talks, he said, was the willingness of UN agencies to become more actively involved in resolving systemic problems caused by the war and overcoming its consequences, the statement noted.
UN representatives confirmed their readiness to respond promptly to Ukraine’s urgent requests, mobilize resources from the international community, expand operational assistance, and support Ukraine in overcoming humanitarian and economic challenges.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed on a joint action plan to attract additional donor funding from international financial institutions, including the World Bank, as well as private humanitarian foundations.
