In 2024, USAID’s Agricultural and Rural Development Program (USAID Agro) supported 1200 Ukrainian agricultural producers who were able to receive over UAH 1.14 billion through a number of financial instruments, the program’s press service reported on Facebook.
“With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, it became clear that farmers need financial products offered by the non-banking sector more than ever: commodity lending, leasing (including leaseback and factoring), and agricultural installments,” the statement said.
USAID Agro said that in 2024, farmers received more than UAH 1 billion in commodity loans for the purchase of seeds, fertilizers and plant protection products with deferred payment until harvest from seven partner organizations – Adama Ukraine LLC, Ukravit LLC, Zakhid Agribusiness LLC, Makosh LLC, Agroresurs LLC, Himagro LLC, and Agro Arena LLC. Farmers could pay off the loan in cash or grain. In most cases, no hard collateral was required.
In 2024, agrarians also received UAH 44 million in financing through WEAGRO, a specialized online service from Activitis, a financial company. Without direct interaction with the financial company, farmers received an installment decision within 30 minutes and payment under the contract within two hours.
In addition, USAID Agro supported the Digital Leasing in Three Clicks in Three Days platform from ESKA Capital, which financed farmers for almost UAH 100 million as part of a joint project.
“The uniqueness of this initiative is the leasing of equipment for up to 15 years, leaseback, financing for farmers bordering the combat zone; as well as the absence of bureaucratic obstacles and the ability to draw up contracts online,” the program reminded.
USAID Agro promised to support these projects in 2025 and prepare two more for launch. These are the development of secondary circulation of commodity loans, as well as financing of agricultural producers through agricultural notes.
JSCB Lviv and Aqua Agro LLC (Vinnytsia) have announced the launch of a partnership program aimed at improving conditions for farmers when buying seeds, plant protection products and fertilizers, the bank’s press service reports.
According to the report, farmers can purchase products of Aqua Agro LLC by borrowing funds from Lviv JSCB at a rate of 0.01% per annum in UAH for a period of 3 months. The program’s advantages include no collateral, no issuance fee and no insurance for loans of up to UAH 5 million; a simplified process of assessing the financial condition of an agricultural enterprise and personal support from a bank manager.
Aqua Agro LLC was registered in 2021 in Vinnytsia. It is a distributor of plant protection products, seeds and fertilizers, including biological ones.
JSCB Lviv was established in 1990. In 2007, it became a fully foreign-owned bank. In January 2019, 51% of the bank’s shares were bought by the Swiss responsAbility Fund, and in 2022, the Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation Nefco bought 13.94% of the bank’s shares. According to the bank’s website, it serves more than 30 thousand customers a year and ranks fifth in terms of the number of branches in Western Ukraine.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has announced a project strategy to support small farmers in a number of frontline regions and will provide them with $1,000 vouchers to purchase grain seeds for the upcoming spring and autumn sowing campaigns, the FAO press service reports.
“FAO is committed to empowering farmers to rebuild and sustain their livelihoods by providing access to quality agricultural inputs, strengthening local economies and promoting the long-term resilience of war-affected communities,” the statement said.
The initiative is funded by the governments of Germany and France. It is expected to be an important step in restoring agricultural production and strengthening the food security of communities affected by the ongoing war.
The program will be open to 550 small and medium-sized farmers who cultivate land plots ranging from 10 to 300 hectares in Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions. Priority will be given to farms run by women and those operating near the frontline, where farming conditions remain difficult.
Farmers interested in participating can apply for assistance through the State Agrarian Register (SAR) until January 26, 2025. After the applications are processed, selected participants will receive confirmation through the SAR, as well as detailed information on how to receive and use the vouchers.
FAO noted that applying does not guarantee assistance, as eligibility will be determined based on specific program criteria.
Farmers who purchased Ukrainian-made agricultural machinery and equipment in September 2024 will receive approximately UAH 150 million in compensation from the state, the Ministry of Economy reports on its website.
“We continue to support Ukrainian machine building. We have signed an order to allocate almost UAH 150 million as compensation for farmers who have bought new machinery and equipment made in Ukraine. Thus, we are stimulating demand for domestic products. The register currently includes 133 manufacturers and almost 11.8 thousand units of machinery and equipment. We hope that the number will increase,” said Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy.
The Ministry of Economy clarified that the funds will be transferred to 25 authorized banks based on buyers’ applications submitted in September. The largest amounts of compensation will be paid to buyers of machinery through PrivatBank (over UAH 52 million), Oschadbank (UAH 31.8 million) and ProCredit Bank (UAH 15 million).
In total, over UAH 395 million has been accrued to farmers since the program’s inception (including the current order), including UAH 220 thousand in April, UAH 18.6 million in May, UAH 66.4 million in June, UAH 61.5 million in July, UAH 98.5 million in August, and UAH 149.98 million in September.
More than 1700 farmers participated in the 2024 program and purchased Ukrainian machinery worth almost UAH 1.9 billion.
The largest number of applications for compensation for purchased agricultural machinery and equipment were submitted in the following regions: Odesa – 178, Kirovohrad – 170, Poltava – 157, Mykolaiv – 148, Cherkasy – 135, Vinnytsia – 120.
As reported, the state program to compensate farmers for the purchase of Ukrainian-made agricultural machinery and equipment is part of the Made in Ukraine policy. Farmers who have purchased machinery and equipment from the list on the Ministry of Economy’s website can receive compensation. To do this, they need to submit an application and documents confirming the purchase to an authorized bank.
Producers wishing to include their equipment in the list can contact the Ministry of Economy via the official e-mail address – meconomy@me.gov.ua. The application must be submitted in electronic form using an electronic signature or other means of identification that allow to establish the identity of the manager or authorized person.
The list of machinery and equipment is regularly updated after the localization of production is verified. The level of localization must exceed 60% (40-45% for tractors, combines, special equipment, etc.). The compliance of manufacturers is determined in accordance with the criteria specified in the Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution No. 130 (as amended), the Ministry of Economy reminded.
Farmers in all regions of Ukraine have already harvested 9.5 million tons of new crops from 2.785 million hectares, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported on Friday.
According to the press service, 5.7 million tons of wheat were harvested from 1.508 million hectares at a yield of 33.8 c/ha, 2.4 million tons of barley from 642.3 thousand hectares at a yield of 38.9 c/ha, 260.9 thousand tons of peas from 127.3 thousand hectares at a yield of 20.3 c/ha.
Ukraine also continues harvesting oilseeds. In particular, 1.085 mln tons of rapeseed have been harvested from 499.6 thou hectares with a yield of 15.3 c/ha and 0.3 thou tons of soybeans from 0.2 thou hectares with a yield of 19.3 c/ha.
At the same time, the TOP-3 in terms of grain harvesting rates includes farmers of Mykolaiv region – 484.1 thou hectares, Odesa region – 464.5 thou hectares, and Dnipropetrovs’k region – 319.4 thou hectares.
Ivano-Frankivsk region is the leader in terms of yields with 66.6 c/ha.
In the Kherson region, farmers have started harvesting millet, with 50 hectares threshed and 50 tons of seeds harvested.
Corteva Agriscience, an international agricultural research company, has provided soybean and sunflower seeds to Ukrainian farmers from eastern and southern Ukraine for the spring sowing campaign under a program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the company’s press service reports.
According to the report, under this program, small and medium-sized farms and agricultural producers in the frontline regions with land area of 10 to 500 hectares were eligible to apply for free seeds. FAO provided farmers from eastern and southern Ukraine with Corteva’s Pioneer® sunflower hybrids for sowing on 6,000 hectares.
“Working side by side with farmers, we see the extraordinary efforts they are making to continue sowing fields and contributing to the world’s food security during the third year of full-scale war. Therefore, it was an honor for Corteva to participate in the FAO project and supply farmers with Pioneer® sunflower seeds,” said Oleksandra Bilash, Head of Marketing at Corteva Agriscience in Ukraine.
The project of Corteva Agriscience and FAO was implemented jointly with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine with the financial support of the governments of Japan, Norway and Belgium.
Corteva recalled that in 2023, as part of a partnership program with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the company donated about 8 thousand sowing units of winter rape and 45 thousand sowing units of Pioneer® corn and sunflower seeds to small Ukrainian farmers from the affected areas.
Corteva Agriculture is a global agricultural company. It offers comprehensive solutions to maximize yields and profitability. It has more than 150 research facilities and more than 65 active ingredients in its portfolio.
The company’s presence in Ukraine includes the headquarters in Kyiv, a research center in Liubartsi village (Kyiv region) and a seed production complex in Stasi village (Poltava region).
In April 2022, the company decided to leave the Russian market due to the full-scale war against Ukraine unleashed by Russia.
