The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced collaboration with three major Ukrainian agricultural holdings to develop their grain export and storage infrastructure for a total project investment of $44 million.
According to CNN’s website, the three companies are large Ukrainian agricultural producers Kernel, Nibulon and Grain Alliance.
It is specified that the cooperation with the companies will help increase Ukraine’s capacity to ship over 3 million tons of grain to foreign markets per year. Investments will be used to develop the infrastructure of agricultural products storage and expansion of elevators.
“This announcement is part of a deliberate effort by the Biden administration to develop Ukraine’s economy and mitigate the global food security crisis that escalated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the publication specified in the report.
As earlier reported, before the war Kernel was the world’s number one producer and exporter of sunflower oil (about 7% of world production) and was the largest producer and seller of bottled sunflower oil in Ukraine. The company was also engaged in cultivation and sale of other agricultural products.
In FY2022 (July-2021 – June-2022), the holding posted a net loss of $41 mln versus $506 mln net profit in the previous FY. Its revenue decreased by 5% to $5.332 bln, and EBITDA decreased by 3.7 times to $220 mln.
Nibulon, one of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, on April 15, 2022 received the permit from Izmail city council (Odessa region) for the construction of the terminal for handling grain cargoes on the land plot with the total area of 20 hectares.
“Nibulon” was established in 1991. Before Russian military invasion grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and complexes to receive the crops, the capacities for one-time storage of 2,25 mln. tons of agroindustrial complex products, fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and also owned Nikolaev shipyard.
“Nibulon” before the war worked 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries.
The grain trader exported maximum 5.64 million tons of agricultural products in 2021, reaching record volumes of deliveries to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Grain Alliance Agro Holding in spring 2022 purchased a grain logistics hub near the border of Ukraine and Slovakia to deliver agricultural products by land bypassing Ukrainian ports, the throughput capacity of which was significantly reduced due to the full-scale Russian military invasion. The transshipment capacity of the grain terminal in Černá nad Tysou (Slovakia) will be up to 400,000 tons per year.
Before the war, Grain Alliance farmed 57,000 hectares in Kyiv, Poltava, Chernigov and Cherkassy regions, grew more than 300,000 tons of grains and oilseeds a year, and owned more than a thousand head of cattle.
Agroholding has six granaries in Ukraine with a total capacity of over 260 thousand tons.
The founders of Harvest Moon East LLC (Baryshevka village, Kyiv region) and BZK Grain Alliance (Sweden) established a joint company, Grain Alliance, in 2009.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has allocated $13 billion in direct budgetary assistance to support the social sphere of Ukraine, in particular medicine, education and rescue services, the press service of USAID Ukraine reports.
“USAID has provided $13 billion in direct budget support to ensure that Ukrainian medical professionals, educators, and rescue workers provide services to the residents of communities and support Ukraine in resisting the Russian invasion. Isobel Coleman (the USAID Deputy Administrator) and the Finance Ministry of Ukraine expressed the U.S.’ and Ukraine’s commitment to transparent and accountable use of funds,” USAID Ukraine said on Twitter.
On December 5, USAID launched the USAID/ENGAGE Note project, under which educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and self-employed individuals in Ukraine will receive 5000 modern laptops with licensed software.
ABOUT THE PROJECT.
The national project “SOPHIA Note” is the result of joint efforts of international donors, business, Ukrainian volunteers and government. The project is being implemented within the framework of the USAID Youth Program “Dreaming and Acting”, implemented by IREX in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Ukrainian volunteer platform “SpilDiya”, as well as HP Inc. and Microsoft, which provided laptops and licensed software.
Applications for the first wave of the project started on December 5 and will last until December 15. The initiative is being implemented throughout Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territories.
The project aims to support Ukrainian youth in access to education, response services and self-realization during the war. The distribution of laptops will take place in close cooperation with educational institutions, organizations and foundations working with and for young people and engaged in important educational and social tasks for communities, helping vulnerable groups. The devices will also be provided to self-employed Ukrainians who really need them.
The main goal is to give Ukrainian youth the tools to solve problems at the local, regional and national levels, to promote youth initiatives.
WHO CAN APPLY AND HOW TO GET THE LAPTOP(S)?
The application can be submitted by:
– schools seeking to provide children who do not have equipment for learning;
– public organizations / charitable foundations / other educational and creative non-profit organizations and initiatives
– self-employed persons.
To participate in the first wave of the competition, you must submit an application by December 15 (inclusive). All details on the necessary steps and criteria can be found on the website of the volunteer association “SpivDia” spivdiia.org.ua/notebook
Applications will be processed from the first day of the project and will be checked by case managers of “SpivDia Note” as they are received. Priority will be given to applicants (including self-employed persons) who really need the laptop(s) to provide access to training, improve or create opportunities to provide response services for children and youth, as well as for the professional realization of young Ukrainians.
QUOTE.
Iryna Tuliakova, Founder and Executive Director of the “SpilDiya” Foundation.
“Since the first days of the full-scale war, SodDiya has been uniting volunteer, public, state initiatives and business to support Ukrainians. Today we are launching the “SpilDiya Note” project to support those who help others and want to increase their usefulness. I am grateful to our partners – USAID/ENGAGE, IREX, HP Inc. and Microsoft for their systematic support of young people and trust in the implementation of the program. Let’s work together for victory!” said Iryna Tuliakova, founder and CEO of the “SOPHIA” Foundation.
Mehri Drakman, Director of the program “Dreaming and Acting” / IREX.
“Young people are able to develop and implement effective solutions in response to the urgent needs of Ukrainian society. From the first days of the volunteer platform “SpilDiya” USAID “Dreaming and Acting” program has been actively supporting its development, and now we are implementing such a large-scale project as “SpilDiya Note”, using the mechanism developed by young people to provide humanitarian assistance, educational and social services to the civilian population”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
USAID/ENGAGE is a 5-year program aimed at developing and supporting youth in Ukraine, creating an enabling environment in which young people will have the opportunity to realize their dreams, ideas and visions for the country’s development. Using a youth-centered approach – not for young people, but with young people – the program promotes youth innovation, entrepreneurship, increased participation in community decision-making and problem-solving at the national level, and strengthens the potential of Ukrainian youth to be a driving force for pluralism and respect for diversity. “Dreaming and Acting” engages young people in the development and implementation of projects and initiatives, and conducts research to inform youth policy and move towards effective and sustainable change.
The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing up to $20 million to the Grain from Ukraine initiative announced by President Vladimir Zelensky at the G20 Summit earlier this week to help feed people around the world, USAID said in a release Friday.
“USAID will provide support through the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to facilitate the delivery of additional shipments of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the release said.
The U.S. agency recalls that before Putin’s invasion, Ukraine was one of WFP’s largest grain suppliers and the fourth largest commercial exporter of wheat in the world.
Today’s announcement builds on WFP’s existing $173 million support to date to buy Ukrainian grain to feed people in countries facing the most severe food crises, including Ethiopia, Yemen, and Afghanistan. Thanks to U.S. funding, 210,000 tons of food was purchased, enough to feed an estimated 12.6 million people for one month.
All told, since the start of Putin’s war against Ukraine in February, the U.S. has provided more than $11 billion to combat the global food crisis, including nearly $8.6 billion in humanitarian aid, the release indicated.
According to it, USAID also continues to help Ukrainian farmers who risk their lives to feed the world through the Agricultural Sustainability Initiative-Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine). The initiative focuses on four areas that are critical to supporting Ukraine’s agricultural exports and its contribution to global food security: providing critical resources for farmers; improving export logistics and infrastructure; improving farmers’ access to finance; and addressing the needs of drying, storing, and processing crops. USAID has invested $100 million in the initiative, and the agency seeks to raise at least $150 million in additional funding from other donors, foundations and the private sector.
Prime Minister Denis Shmygal says USAID will support the creation of processing plants in Ukraine starting next year.
“The government is interested in increasing added value, that’s why it already supports the creation of processing enterprises in mid-sized businesses through eRabotka grant programs. According to him, an agreement has been reached with USAID to support this direction from next year,” the government press service said referring to Shmygal.
The prime minister also noted that after the war Ukraine expects a significant inflow of capital.
“Much attention will be paid to projects of public-private partnership, concession and for Ukrainian business will have a key role in this strategy,” the statement said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power discussed the implementation of the Ukraine Fast Recovery Plan and the details of programs designed to develop a safe space in Ukraine, the website of the Ukrainian head of state reported.
“Today, our main goal is to prepare for winter, create decent living conditions for the population in the liberated territories, and restore critical infrastructure as soon as possible. There is a big and ambitious thing that will happen after the victory of Ukraine, but there is something that is needed now and where you can help us,” Zelensky emphasized during a conversation with the USAID administrator.
The president of Ukraine presented Samantha Power with the Order of Princess Olga of the first grade, which she was awarded for her significant contribution to the development of interstate cooperation and consistent and important support of our state.
Zelensky also thanked her for the agency’s allocation of $55 million to prepare Ukraine’s heating infrastructure for winter amid Russian aggression, and also praised the level of economic and defense support provided by the United States to Ukraine.
“It is extremely important for us to have such an ally as the United States, which is a real leader in consolidating international support for Ukraine,” the president of Ukraine said.
