The Agriculture Resilience Initiative – Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine) is a $100 million USAID initiative that was established in 2022 to bolster Ukrainian agriculture exports and help alleviate the global food security crisis exacerbated by Putin’s brutal war on Ukraine.
AGRI-Ukraine is strengthening Ukraine’s immediate agricultural export resilience, to support Ukrainian farmers and reduce global food insecurity.
USAID ERA is one of the implementing partners under AGRI-Ukraine, with an approximately $30 million mandate to enhance Ukrainian infrastructure capacity to efficiently export agricultural goods.
ERA is supporting market system resilience through alternatives to the traditional Black Sea ports that are threatened by Russia’s blockades. Such measures include overland rail export via the EU and use of the Danube River to export from Romanian Black Sea ports.
| BOTTLENECKS | ERA’s RESPONSE | |
| Insufficient transshipment equipment for new export routes | Procuring transshipment equipment such as telescopic loaders and bucket loaders |  |
| Procuring transshipment equipment such as generators and tractors |  |
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| Procuring transshipment equipment such as temporary storage |  |
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| Facilitating increased use of return trip containers available for grain export |  |
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| Procured and is distributing 14-16 ton reusable mega big bags (MBBs) to leading exporters |  |
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| Border crossing points (BCPs) between Ukraine and the EU are not equipped for new volumes with the needed equipment, laboratories, facilities or storages in place | Procuring laboratory grain testing equipment for state laboratories to speed up the pre-approvals to accommodate increased demand at new export routes |  |
| Providing additional pilot boat capacity to increase efficiency of operations and throughput on the Danube River |  |
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| Assessing and starting procurement to design new border crossing points (BCPs) at Yahodyn (Ukraine-Poland border) and Uzhhorod (Ukraine-Slovakia border), the two highest export traffic BCPs |  |
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| Inadequate number and quality of wagons to meet the increased demand for rail transport of agricultural commodities | Procurement of EU-compliant wagons |  |
CONTACT:
Timothy Madigan, ERA Chief of Party, Timothy_Madigan@dai.com
Bill Mays, ERA AGRI Director, Bill_Mays@dai.com