FAO stands ready to support Ukrainian farmers and rural population

Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader for Europe and Central Asia, has had his first mission to Ukraine since the beginning of the war escalation in order to express FAO’s readiness to continue providing emergency agricultural support to the most vulnerable and ensuring sustainability of local and global agri-food supplies.

Raimund Jehle emphasized that since 24 February FAO increased its capacity and, in addition to the emergency response programme, now it is resuming projects implemented before the war. He also stressed the importance of timely addressing the challenges to maintain critical food production and address breakdowns in agri-food supply chains.

“We continue to support Ukraine and work closely with the Government of Ukraine, in particular, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, and local administrations to ensure the stability and development of agriculture in this difficult time for the country,” said Raimund Jehle. “FAO’s portfolio in Ukraine focus on emergency assistance to the agricultural rural households, addressing storage deficit, supporting value chains development, adaptation to climate change and combating land degradation.”

Following the start of the war, FAO developed and updated its Rapid Response Plan, requiring USD 115.4 million to assist nearly 1 million rural people by providing agricultural assistance and ensuring food security to those most affected by the conflict. Under this programme, FAO has already supported 80 000 people in 13 oblasts of Ukraine and continues providing multi-purpose cash assistance to cover the basic needs of over 5 000 families in the hardest hit locations in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.

Apart from it, FAO will provide animal feed and pilot a voucher program for the purchase of essential agricultural inputs. Support will be provided to displaced persons and host families in rural areas, as well as to the most vulnerable categories of the population.

In addition to these activities, FAO is working with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on the implementation of Grain Storage Support Strategy to address the current storage deficit in Ukraine, aiming to deploy temporary storage capacity to farmers through 2022-2023. This will strengthen food security and protect livelihoods at the household and national levels in Ukraine, and ensure other grain import-dependent countries retain access to adequate supplies of grain, at a manageable cost.

“Together with the Ministry of Agricultural Policy, FAO is implementing the Grain Storage Strategy, according to which FAO plans to ensure the storage of 4.07 million tons of grain, which is 25% of the national need. We already completed a tender and are identifying potential suppliers of grain sleeves with supporting equipment, modular storage units,” added Pierre Vauthier, Head of the office in Ukraine. “One of the important requirements for receiving temporary storage equipment will be the registration in the State Agrarian Registry.”

Thanks to close collaboration with the Government of Ukraine and our partners, and generous contributions from donors, FAO will continue delivering life and livelihood saving assistance across the country.

Tags: Production, support, FAO, food, emergency, agricultural, Central Asia, agri-food supplies, assistance, Ukraine, Europe