FAO and EU launch a second grant call to bolster the recovery of Ukrainian farmers

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announces the start of the second cycle within the grant programme implemented with financial support of the European Union. This strategic initiative aims to support the ongoing recovery of Ukrainian farmers facing challenges compounded by the impacts of the war on agri-businesses, SEEDS  

The objective is to sustain production, improve efficiency and profitability, and, in the long term, strengthen national value and supply chains.

“The EU-funded matching grant programme is designed in a manner to help agricultural producers to integrate into sustainable value chains, improve their livelihoods, increase employment and development of rural areas,  – said Christian Ben Hell, the Sector Manager for Agriculture at the EU Delegation to Ukraine. – We believe that the programme also promotes the sustainable development of selected value chains in Ukraine in a way that is inclusive and supportive of small-scale agricultural producers and agricultural enterprises.” 

This initiative has been showing good results within the first cycle, where 138 applications have been approved among 212 applications received in the State Agrarian Register. The grant support provided is totalling USD 1,73 million.

The most popular investments include purchase of tractors, solar power panels, specialized production and processing equipment for a particular value chain. 

“The first grant cycle showed great interest in the project among agricultural sector actors, who are forced to operate in the environment characterized by multiple, compound and overlapping shocks to agri-businesses caused by the war,” said Pierre Vauthier, head of FAO Ukraine country office. “Through the investment grant support provided within the first grant cycle, we equipped farmers with tools to ensure the transformation of agriculture toward modernization and adaptation to new context and challenges.”

 FAO and EU encourage farmers from Lvivska, Zakarpatska, Ivano-Frankivska and Chernivetska oblasts to participate in the second grand cycle. The call for applications is open through the State Agrarian Registry (SAR) until 31 January 2024. 

Grantees will be required to contribute a proportion of the overall costs, and matching levels will differentiate, depending on the value chain selected. Grants will be disbursed in Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) at the United Nations exchange rate in the amounts:

• up to UAH 370 000 (USD 10 000) for small individual agricultural producers;
• up to UAH 925 000 (USD 25 000) for agricultural micro and small enterprises, agricultural cooperatives and associations of GI producers.

The second cycle of the grant support covers the following value chains, including Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).