(Interfax) – The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has instituted a $100-million Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) – Ukraine to support the Ukrainian agricultural sector amid the exacerbation of a global food crisis.
The program will be targeted at promoting Ukraine’s continued production of agricultural commodities through 2023 and addressing its urgent export needs, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry on Wednesday.
“Over the past four and a half months, the Ukrainian president, government, and Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry have maximized their efforts to bolster Ukraine’s export capability and support our agrarians financially so that they could keep working,” the press service quoted Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Mykola Solsky as saying.
The initiative should provide Ukrainian farmers with easier access to financing, as well as critical agricultural inputs, such as fuel, fertilizers, pesticides, crop protection means, seeds, and equipment, it said.
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In addition, it should expand the capacity of Ukrainian agribusinesses to dry, temporarily store, and process agricultural commodities.
USAID would work together with Ukrainian associations of farmers to upgrade grain storage facilities to be able to apply efficient technology where necessary, the ministry said.
USAID is currently helping over 8,000 Ukrainian farmers to reap this year’s harvest, it said.
“USAID is striving to raise an additional $150 million for AGRI-Ukraine from fellow donors and the private sector with an overall target of $250 million,” it said.
