The Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) held an open online meeting dedicated to the situation on the grain market, financial support for agricultural business, and the priority actions needed to get through the autumn sowing campaign under conditions of the blocking of maritime exports.

The Chairman of the UAC, Andrii Dykun, emphasized that the current situation is significantly more difficult than in 2022. According to him, farmers have received a harvest, but due to the blocking of ports, high logistics costs, and the absence of financial reserves, the main challenge is becoming the provision of funds.

"The main task of the UAC today is to help farmers hold on. If the ports remain blocked, the industry needs resources not only for the autumn, but also for the spring sowing campaign. These are also funds for repaying loans and fulfilling obligations to the owners of land shares. Unlike in 2022, right now most farms no longer have a financial safety cushion. The issue of access to financing today is a question of the survival of Ukrainian agribusiness," Andrii Dykun noted.

The participants were informed about the results of negotiations with the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, the National Bank of Ukraine, and other authorities, and were also provided with clarifications regarding the already adopted decisions that should help farmers preserve liquidity and attract financing.

The Deputy Chairman of the UAC, Dmytro Kokhan, reported that, following the negotiations, the first decisions on expanding state support have already been adopted.

"The Government has adopted the first anti-crisis decisions to support farmers. The Cabinet of Ministers has amended the '5-7-9%' program, restoring the possibility of obtaining loans to replenish working capital in the amount of up to UAH 90 million at a rate of 10%. It will also be possible to prolong previously obtained loans on the same conditions that are in effect today. At the same time, the NBU has significantly increased the coefficient for considering grain as collateral — from 40% to 75% of its market value. In parallel, the Government has appealed to the EU regarding the allocation of additional financing, so that, in the event of a positive decision, the maximum lending limit can be increased to UAH 150 million per borrower. The main goal of these decisions is to provide agricultural enterprises with access to liquidity during the most difficult period," noted the Deputy Chairman of the UAC, Dmytro Kokhan.

The participants of the meeting also discussed the prospects for expanding state guarantees for loans, war risk insurance programs, providing farmers with sleeves (grain bags) for the temporary storage of grain, and current issues of the reservation of workers.

The Ukrainian Agri Council has already appealed to international donors regarding the provision of grain storage sleeves to farmers, and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy is carrying out analogous work. In total, this should provide about 10,000 sleeves for the temporary storage of the harvest and help get through the current season without critical losses.

Andriy Dykun called on farmers to prepare for prolonged operation under conditions of military risks, paying particular attention to insuring production assets, protecting grain elevators, diversifying harvest storage locations, and preparing for possible problems with energy supply during the winter period.

"We see that grain elevators have also become one of the targets of Russian attacks. Therefore, every elevator owner already now needs to cooperate with the regional authorities and the military in order to integrate their facilities into the air defense system as much as possible. The second mandatory task is insurance. Today, state and international insurance mechanisms exist, but farmers so far use them insufficiently. It is necessary to insure elevators, warehouses, farms, solar power plants — everything that can be protected. If such an opportunity exists, it must be used," Andrii Dykun emphasized.

During the online meeting, UAC representatives also answered participants' questions regarding the practical application of the adopted decisions and reported on further consultations and thematic webinars dedicated to state support programs, war risk insurance, and the reservation of workers. Already on August 11, the UAC invites agricultural producers to a practical online webinar during which the conditions of the state program of compensation and war risk insurance for business will be explained. (Registration at the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/6p-khwnJTDiSgHuhH2BG-Q).

Summing up the meeting, the UAC emphasized that the coming months will be decisive for the Ukrainian agricultural sector. In the near future, the industry will have to defend decisions on the expansion of state guarantees, financial support, and other anti-crisis instruments. Only a consolidated position of producers will make it possible to protect the interests of the industry and ensure its stable operation under wartime conditions.