“Five solutions that will help support the agricultural sector during the war”, — write: www.epravda.com.ua
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the agricultural sector of Ukraine has suffered direct losses of more than 10 billion dollars. From the destruction of agricultural machinery in the total amount of 5.8 billion dollars to the loss and destruction of livestock farms for more than 250 million dollars.
Tens of thousands of men who worked at enterprises were mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces, and women left for EU countries due to military operations to save children.
Depopulation leads to a negative impact on the economy of communities. The loss of each employee is a significant blow, as each employee in the enterprise has a high value.
Retaining employees is a priority, because the training of new specialists requires significant time and financial resources. And even if it is necessary to train, the main question is how to attract new people, how to support agricultural producers in these difficult conditions and bring life back to Ukrainian villages.
1. Overcoming obstacles in doing business for those who did not surrender to the Russian occupationUkrainian farmers who left the occupied territories of Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions for patriotic reasons lost everything: their homes, farms, livestock, crops.
And now, paradoxically, Ukrainian banks are chasing them and demanding to pay the loans they took before the full-scale war. But they cannot do this, because everything has been destroyed by the occupiers, or remains under the administration of the Russian administration in the occupied territory, and farmers no longer have access to their own property.
The VAR has repeatedly publicly raised this issue, emphasizing the adoption of draft law No. 11180-1, which provides for the freezing of loan payments to farmers who left their businesses in the temporarily occupied territories.
Adoption of the draft law will provide an opportunity to return highly professional specialists to the industry, revive agriculture in other regions and strengthen the economy of communities.
2. Priority for renting state land for displaced UkrainiansLaunched auctions for the lease of state land – great news. However, priority should be given to those who already have experience in cultivating this land, that is, temporarily displaced Ukrainian farmers, farmers who left the occupied territories, and those who lost their lands.
If we don’t prioritize them, we risk losing this unique workforce to other countries.
3. “5-7-9%” loans to support agricultural producersSoft credit programs, such as “5-7-9%”. This is a very important and necessary program, and we are all grateful for it, but credit limits under it have been increased only for livestock.
According to farmers, all participants in the agricultural sector need to increase the limits. It is also necessary to develop proposals for the implementation of the “5-7-9%” program for farmers from temporarily occupied and de-occupied territories. This is not only about supporting business, but also about ensuring the country’s food security and, again, about reviving the industry in villages and communities.
4. Support for women farmers who are ready to restore agrarian business and open enterprisesBefore the full-scale war, the share of women who headed family farms was about 10%. Currently, we do not have exact numbers, but because of the war, women have even more taken over the functions of men in the management of farms, they themselves sit behind the wheel of harvesters, work in front-line regions and relocate businesses from war zones.
However, they do not have enough attention from the state, such as grant support, special lending conditions, or the provision of vouchers that make it possible to pay for education in educational institutions.
In general, there are critically few government programs to involve women in entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. All this falls on the shoulders of agricultural producers themselves.
5. Education in the agricultural sector for the younger generationThe state should pay attention to the personnel situation in the agro-industrial sector of Ukraine, promote the reform of specialized education and the development of the market of educational services in the training of employees. The industry needs young, active, motivated, highly educated, responsible and creative people who consciously choose this direction and connect their future with it.
For five years, members of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council have been supporting the special course “Agrosphere” for the “immersion” of high school students in modern agricultural production.
It has been implemented and successfully tested in the Ukrainian Agrarian Lyceum in the city of Uman and a number of schools in several regions. As the founder of the lyceum, every year I provide scholarships to children who want to study the agricultural sector.
Also, scholarships are provided by VAR participants. This is our joint contribution to the future specialists of the industry. I am convinced that such educational courses should be at the national level in all regions of the country. Only then will we be able to raise a new generation of modern farmers who will bring life back to communities, develop the industry and strengthen the state’s economy.
Summarizing, I will add that this is an incomplete list of issues, but they are important for supporting medium and small agricultural producers today. I hear about this every day from farmers from different regions of Ukraine. Solving these issues will ensure the support of Ukrainian farmers, the restoration of communities, and therefore – Ukraine!