Since January 2014, Canada has announced over $684 million in development, security and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. This amount includes $127 million in bilateral development assistance to support sustainable economic growth. A major focus of this assistance is promoting sustainable economic growth through increased, more inclusive, and more sustainable private sector led growth, investment and job creation – with a major emphasis on improving the competitiveness and export-readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

 

Canada has announced significant new support for Ukrainian SMEs, particularly in the agriculture sector, and is currently funding a number of multi-year agricultural technical assistance projects designed to:

- expand and achieve economies of scale among small and medium-sized horticulture

businesses;

- assist dairy farmers to improve the quantity and quality of the milk they produce;

- build the capacity of small and medium-sized grain producers with an emphasis on grain handling and marketing;

- improve the performance of small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, including by enabling farmers to meet export requirements; and,

- create a fully-functioning, transparent, and financially viable agri-insurance system for Ukraine.

 

These projects operate in all regions of the country with a significant agriculture sector.

Canada is also the lead for the agriculture donor group, a group of Ukraine’s main donor partners which meets on a regular basis to coordinate programming activities and better align them with Government of Ukraine priorities. The agriculture donor group is currently focused on coordinating donor support to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (MAPF) as it develops a 5- year agriculture sector strategy. As part of this support, and in response to a request from MAPF, Canada recently deployed four experts to support Ukraine in developing the export promotion and agricultural education/research components of this strategy. MAPF is currently preparing a broad but comprehensive national strategy for agriculture and rural development. The strategy is being developed by 8 large and 24 sub-working groups made up of stakeholders from across the sector and led by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food.

 

Examples of Canadian Development Projects in the Agriculture Sector Dairy Business Development (2014-2021)

 

- $19.9 million project that aims to assist 10,000 dairy farmers in four of Ukraine’s larger dairy producing regions (Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Kherson, and Ivano-Frankivsk) to improve the quantity and quality of the milk they produce; and more generally to help them establish more successful farm businesses and raise their household incomes. The targeted farmers, many of whom are women, form the membership base for some of Ukraine’s larger dairy cooperatives.

- The project is helping to connect dairy cooperative members with local institutions such as agricultural colleges, suppliers, advisory service companies, and lending organizations, which individual farmers would be unable to access on their own. The project also supports the establishment of many new family-run dairy farms, and aims to create or support dairy sector support businesses, such as veterinary services, artificial insemination services, and machinery services.

 

Horticulture Business Development (2014-2021)

 

- $19.7 million project aimed at increasing the growth of small and medium-sized horticulture businesses, particularly those led by women. The project scope will include approximately 30,000 farmers in four of Ukraine’s most significant horticulture-producing regions: Mykolayiv, Odessa, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

- The project aims to improve cooperation between small and medium-sized horticulture enterprises to create economies of scale that individual farmers are unable to access on their own. Some project activities include: (i) providing equipment, as well as training and technical assistance on better agricultural practices; (ii) setting up a loan mechanism to help farmers access financing to expand their businesses; and (iii) helping local agricultural training institutes to develop new courses on the efficient and environmentally sustainable management of horticultural farms.

 

Grain Storage and Marketing Cooperatives (2013-2018)

 

- $13.5 million project to develop the capacity of small and medium-sized grain producers by organizing cooperatives to provide members with modern storage, handling and marketing services.

- The project will increase competitiveness of grain cooperative members in domestic and export markets, and develop more responsive and effective agriculture-related institutions that support farms operated by both women and men.

 

Engaging the Private Sector for SME Farm Development (2014-2020)

 

- $3.8 million project aimed to improve performance of small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises. By building capacity of private-sector agricultural input distributors, the project is using their network as a channel for delivering technical advice and financial services to 20,000 small and medium-scale farmers in various regions of Ukraine.

- The project is testing new farming methods and providing training, coaching, and innovative tools in three areas: i) sustainable farm management and cropping practices using modern information and communication technologies, ii) marketing by enabling farmers to meet the requirements of both domestic and export markets, and iii) access to financing. The project is being implemented in partnership with commercial agricultural input suppliers, banks, grocery chains, and extension service providers.

Source: Government of Canada