USAID to give Ukraine $20 mln for small, medium farms

Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Kutoviy has announced that United States Agency for International Development (USAID) plans to allocate $20 million for the implementation of a four-year program to support small and medium-sized farmers in Ukraine.

”We`re about to launch another large-scale support program worth $20 million. It has just been agreed on at a meeting with USAID Regional Mission Director to Ukraine Susan Fritz. It is a new four-year program `Agriculture and Rural Development Support.` Its emphasis is laid on comprehensive support of small and medium-sized producers,” he wrote on Facebook

Kutoviy also noted that the program contributes to developing a transparent legal framework for agricultural land markets, modernizing the irrigation system, improving the country`s export competitiveness. The program also aims to support selected rural communities.

”The total amount that Ukrainian farmers can raise is $20.6 million. Currently, we are specifying procedures how to make the distribution of the funds transparent,” the minister added reminding that Ukraine had attracted a 12-year agri-food loan worth EUR 400 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

As UNIAN reported earlier, on October 12, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a bill into law to ratify a financial agreement between Ukraine and the EIB on a Ukraine agri-food apex loan worth EUR 400 million. The loan is designed for 12 years with a four-year grace period. The EIB funds can cover up to 50% of project costs. The remaining 50% of the costs will be financed at the expense of own assets of participating banks or agribusinesses.

In 2017, the Agrarian Policy Ministry plans to pay farmers compensations for the abolition of the special taxation treatment under value-added tax by providing direct subsidies from the budget.

The Ukrainian government proposed that the parliament approve the 2017 budget with UAH 2.97 billion in spending on financial support to farmers and UAH 300 million in compensation of loan interest. Further, UAH 75 million has been earmarked to support the development of hop growing, creation of new orchards, vineyards and berry fields. A total of UAH 210 million is planned to be spent on supporting the livestock sector.

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