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.
Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval and representatives of the USAID Harvest program handed over the first 10 grain dryers to farmers working in the frontline areas, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported.
“The first 10 grain dryers will benefit more than 100 farmers. This will allow them to increase production, ensure proper drying of grain and sell products with 15-20% added value in the frontline regions,” the minister said.
According to him, the USAID Harvest program will also provide farmers with 7,000 grain sleeves, which will help preserve 1.4 million tons of grain. The initiative is aimed at overcoming the critical shortage of grain storage capacity in Chernihiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions and will help about 300 farms with an area of 1,000 to 10,000 hectares.
Koval reminded that during the war, when granaries for long-term storage of grain were destroyed throughout the frontline territory, such sleeves became a real salvation for Ukrainian farmers.
The Minister thanked the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which, with the financial support of the governments of Canada, Japan and the United States, were able to implement this program.
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USAID’s Investing for Business Sustainability project has signed four co-investment agreements with Ukrainian companies for $6 million under the Business Growth Support Program, the project’s press office reported on Facebook.
“The goal of the program was to support companies that will be able to quickly increase exports, sales and create new jobs,” the program stressed.
Among the recipients is Delta Food agro-industrial group (TM Gulyai-pole), which produces more than 90% of mayonnaise products on the Ukrainian market. The company received financing of $1 mln to develop production of sauces in glass containers with subsequent export to the Baltic States and for realization on the domestic market.
Uterm Ukraine LLC (Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region), a leading Ukrainian manufacturer of steel heating radiators, received $2 mln to expand its production after relocation. The company is expected to create 250+ new jobs.
Suziria Group, which specializes in pet products, also received $2M to expand its network of production facilities. With financial support from the project and a $4.5 loan from Oschadbank, the company has ordered new equipment and is preparing to launch a wet cat food plant.
In addition, Karat LLC, a carpet manufacturer, received $1 million from the project and attracted additional bank financing to purchase raw materials. This allowed the company to retain 725 jobs, resume export activities, and approach pre-war production levels.
USAID’s Investing for Business Resilience (IBR) project is a five-year program implemented by DAI Global that supports systemic change in Ukraine’s economy and increases the supply of financing available to Ukrainian businesses.
Astarta Agro-Industrial Holding, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, has received 40 grain railcars from the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine program, the donor organization’s press service reported on its Facebook page.
“They will increase the annual export of Ukrainian grain by 44 thousand tons, which will help feed the world. USAID assistance will also allow Astarta-Kyiv to offer better terms and more favorable prices to Ukrainian agricultural producers, which will directly improve their well-being,” the statement said.
USAID is confident that such assistance not only strengthens Ukraine’s economy through higher export revenues, but also helps Ukrainian farmers and plays an important role in ensuring global food security.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, Astarta Agricultural Holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR618.93 million.
As reported, in 2024, the Karpaty Research and Mechanical Plant (Lviv region) will produce 300 grain carriers by order of the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine project, which will account for 45% of the company’s annual workload. The donor organization has already provided a number of Ukrainian agricultural holdings with railroad rolling stock, including 50 hopper cars to Nibulon, 10 units to IMC, 15 units to Cygnet, 25 units to AR Boryspil LLC, a member of the Agro-Region Group, and 25 units to grain traders Almeida Group and Louis Dreyfus, respectively.
The USAID Business Sustainability Investment Project has awarded a second grant of $2.76 million to OTP Bank (Kyiv) to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the bank’s website reports.
“More than 100 companies have already been financed under the first tranche. The new tranche of $2.76 million will bring the total grant amount to $4 million. The funds will be used to compensate for part of the interest rate for borrowing companies,” the website says.
It is noted that the grant program provides for business lending at an interest rate of 9.9% per annum in the first year of the loan agreement, and the difference with the market rate will be compensated by grant funds.
In the second year and thereafter, clients are obliged to pay interest on the use of credit funds at the rate of UIRD3m+5% per annum.
Under the terms of the program, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with annual revenues of up to EUR 50 million and up to 250 employees belonging to one of the following target groups: relocated or affected by hostilities, companies in critical industries, and companies with female co-owners can receive financing on such terms.
The maximum loan amount that a company or a united group of companies can apply for is UAH 20 million, and the minimum is UAH 1 million.
“The grant program also applies to factoring agreements, under which the bank’s clients can receive up to 90% of the cost of supplies in the amount of UAH 2 million to UAH 20 million. Special conditions will apply to agricultural producers if they use the funds received under the grant program to purchase products from OTP Agro Factory’s partners,” the press release said.
The press service reminded that during the first stage of the program, which started in 2023, more than 100 Ukrainian enterprises were provided with financing.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of July 1, 2024, OTP Bank ranked 11th (UAH 114.55 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country. The financial institution’s net profit for 2023 amounted to UAH 3.71 billion.
