The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, together with the international company Bayer and the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, has launched a seed program that will provide free corn seeds for the spring sowing season to farmers in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions (excluding the temporarily occupied territories).
“This initiative is another step towards strengthening Ukraine’s food security in times of war, as it will allow farmers from the frontline and de-occupied territories to sow approximately 10 thousand hectares and harvest approximately 120 thousand tons of grain,” the Ministry of Agrarian Policy emphasized.
According to the ministry, to receive assistance, a farm must be registered in the State Agrarian Register (SAR) and cultivate from 5 hectares to 500 hectares in the specified areas.
Applications will be accepted from April 21 to April 30 or until the amount of assistance is exhausted. Each approved applicant will be able to receive up to 25 sowing units of corn seeds (1 sowing unit per 1 ha) depending on the area of land under cultivation. Seed distribution will begin in early May and will last approximately two weeks.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its total imports of seeds of grains and oilseeds, sugar beets and vegetables to $381.3 million, which is 3.2% more than a year earlier, the press service of the National Research Center Institute of Agrarian Economics (IAE) reported.
According to the report, in 2024 Ukraine imported 8.6 thousand tons of grain seeds and 22.2 thousand tons of oilseeds totaling $302.3 million. Scientists noted that compared to 2023, the cost of imports of these crops decreased by 3.8%, but it is almost 2.5 times higher than domestic exports of seeds, which amounted to $122.6 million.
In addition, sugar beet seeds worth $50.1 million and vegetable seeds worth almost $28.9 million were purchased abroad.
“The volume of purchases of foreign-bred seeds of grains and oilseeds has been gradually decreasing since 2022, while imports of sugar beet and vegetable seeds have been on the rise for three consecutive years,” the scientists emphasized.
According to their information, in 2023, 727 tons of sugar beet seeds were imported for the amount of $32.8 million, and last year the volume of purchases of this type of agricultural products increased by 52.7% and amounted to almost 973 tons. At the same time, the price of sugar beet seeds in 2024 increased to $51493 per ton compared to $45117 per ton a year earlier.
According to the IAEA, the volume of imported seeds fully covers the needs of domestic farmers, as it will allow to allocate more than 300 thsd ha of farmland for sugar beet in 2025. For comparison, in 2023-2024, the area under sugar beet was 220-250 thousand hectares.
In addition, the value of imported vegetable seeds increased by 27.3% last year compared to the previous year and amounted to $28.9 mln. In physical terms, purchases increased by 17.2% to 945 tons.
“Thus, in 2024, due to the increase in the cost of purchasing sugar beet and vegetable seeds abroad, total seed imports increased by 3.2%. The increase in the cost of imports was largely due to the purchase of higher quality seeds and higher categories of additive and basic forms, which are traditionally several times more expensive than certified seeds of different years of certification,” the Institute of Agrarian Economics summarized.
Corteva Agriscience, an international agricultural research company, increased organic sales of sunflower seeds and winter rapeseed by 30% and 80%, respectively, in 2023 compared to 2022, its press service reports.
According to the press release, despite the reduction of corn acreage in Ukraine due to the military actions, Corteva increased its presence in the farms that continued to grow this legume.
The company’s sales growth was driven by an effective direct model of cooperation with farmers, an extensive network of sales agents and representatives, and comprehensive agronomic support for farmers throughout Ukraine. In addition, Corteva has partnered with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to provide additional rapeseed, corn and sunflower seeds for planting to small Ukrainian farmers in the affected areas, the company said.
Corteva also reported that, despite the overall decline in the crop protection market in Ukraine, the company’s organic sales in 2023 increased by 13% compared to last year. At the same time, the demand for Corteva insecticides doubled compared to 2022.
“Such results reflect the company’s focus on providing farmers with the latest and most advanced products to increase agricultural productivity in Ukraine, as declared in the joint declaration between Corteva Agriculture and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on deepening and further developing cooperation for food security in Ukraine and the world,” the statement said.
“Almost two years after the start of the full-scale war, we at Corteva have been working side by side with Ukrainian farmers to help them meet the new challenges they face. We have transformed the company’s work in accordance with the current conditions and learned to work in marathon mode. Farmers consider us to be their reliable partners, which is evidenced by the fact that the number of customers remains unchanged despite the overall market contraction. Our team is doing everything possible, demonstrating extraordinary dynamics in 2024,” said Oleksandr Dmytriyev, Corteva Agriscience’s business manager in Ukraine.
As reported, the world’s leading agrochemical company’s operating EBITDA in 2023 increased by 5% year-on-year, while operating profit per share increased by 1% over the same period.
Corteva Agriscience forecasts that in 2024 its net sales will be in the range of $17.4-17.7 billion and operating EBITDA in the range of $3.5-3.7 billion.
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 Liubarky (Kyiv region) and a seed production complex in Stasi (Poltava region).
In April 2022, the company decided to leave the Russian market due to the full-scale war against Ukraine unleashed by Russia.
The Netherlands will provide Ukrainian farmers with EUR10 million for the demining of agricultural land and EUR40 million for the purchase of seeds and agricultural equipment as part of a total package of EUR180 million in aid to Ukraine, members of the Dutch Parliament’s Agriculture Committee said at a meeting in the Verkhovna Rada.
“We would welcome the Netherlands’ assistance in demining to speed up this process. After all, this is one of the most pressing problems of farmers, especially in the southern and eastern regions,” said Oleksandr Haidu, head of the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy.
He suggested paying attention to projects to restore and modernize irrigation and drainage systems, expanding new logistics routes with the EU to help Ukrainian farmers export agricultural products.
Three dry cargo ships carrying corn and sunflower seeds left Ukrainian ports on Friday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported.
“Three ships left Ukrainian ports on December 2, carrying a total of 106,500 tons of grain and other agricultural products under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the report said.
Vessel Aspasia Luck is transporting 63 thousand tons of corn to China, Sea Inspiration is delivering 26.5 thousand tons of corn to Italy. Lady Perla dry-cargo carrier will carry 17 thousand tons of sunflower seeds to Bulgaria.
Three vessels, which passed through the sea humanitarian corridor on December 2, are also on their way to Ukrainian ports.
“As of December 2, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 12,713,836 tons. A total of 1,031 vessels have been allowed to move so far: 515 to arrive at Ukrainian ports and 516 to leave them,” the report said.
The international research company Corteva Agriscience has established export supply chains for corn seeds from Ukraine to the EU, and in the context of the Russian military invasion plans to increase its exports to European countries by 16 times by the end of the year compared to last year.
According to a press release from the company, as of early August, it has already shipped 3,000 tonnes of corn seeds grown at its seed complex in Poltava region to the European Union.
The company clarified that, for security reasons, it suspended the operation of the seed plant immediately after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but at the initiative of the employees themselves, after some time, resumed the operation of the enterprise. The launch of its work made it possible to provide Ukrainian farmers with seed material that is critical for the sowing campaign.
Corteva, in the context of Russian aggression, also for security reasons, refused to supply seeds of Ukrainian production by land to the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia, but expanded logistics to the EU as much as possible.
“On the production lines of the Corteva plant in Ukraine, high standards of seed production have been introduced, which allow us to produce goods that meet all the quality criteria adopted in the EU. Seeds are controlled by many indicators at all stages of production – from field to bag, and meet the maximum requirements of both Ukrainian, and foreign farmers choosing Corteva genetics,” the company said.
Earlier, in April, the company decided to leave the Russian market due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
Corteva Agriscience is a global agricultural company. It offers farmers comprehensive solutions to maximize yields and profitability. It has more than 150 research facilities and more than 65 active ingredients in the portfolio.
