By KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The volume of state support for the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex in 2023 will be record low due to Russian military aggression, as the country’s budget will be limited in wartime, according to the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB).
"In 2023, state support programs surpassed all anti-records, since the budget in wartime is as limited as possible. On October 7, the draft state budget was adopted as the basis, and currently UAH 1.37 billion are included in the 2023 budget to continue allocating grants on laying gardens and greenhouses for farmers. Another UAH 20 billion is allocated for the 5-7-9 program," UCAB quotes Deputy Head of Advocacy Maria Revenko.
At the same time, the association recalled that in 2022, financial support under the 5-7-9 program has already allowed about 30,000 agricultural producers to receive loans totaling almost UAH 68 billion.
In turn, the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy proposed to include in the state budget for 2023 additional UAH 10.4 billion for financial support for farmers and UAH 500 million for providing loans to farms.
UCAB stressed that in the future a separate area of state support will be associated with compensation for the consequences of Russian aggression, since the country’s agro-industrial complex has already suffered billions of dollars in direct losses. Thus, it is planned to create a fund for the elimination of consequences of aggression, which will be formed from the seized assets of the aggressor state Russia. A Ukraine Recovery Fund will also be created, which will be filled and managed by the country’s donor partners, financing investment projects, including in the agricultural sector.
In addition, it is planned to create a National Fund for resumption of agro-industrial production in the de-occupied territories, which will also be able to use the financial assistance of partner states and international financial institutions, large international corporations, frozen or seized assets of the Russian Federation, deposits of legal entities and individuals and international assistance from humanitarian organizations and charitable foundations.
"It is already clear that the state will not allocate significant funds for traditional programs to subsidize the agro-industrial complex, therefore, one of the most significant options for obtaining financial support in 2023 will be grants from international donors. That is why bills No. 8025 and No. 8051 appeared on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, which legalize international assistance through various mechanisms," Revenko said.
