On July 18, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, USAID/Ukraine Mission Director Julie Konen, and representatives of USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) visited the agricultural exporter, Agro-Region in Kyiv Oblast.
The delegation toured Agro-Region’s facilities to see their phytosanitary laboratory, silos, USAID-provided trucks and how grain is loaded into USAID provided grain wagons for export.
To bolster grain exports, USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) delivered 25 grain wagons, two truck scales, two telescopic handlers, and two generators to AR Boryspil under AGRI Ukraine. In addition, ERA delivered three grain trailers to Harna Lohistyka, another company in the holding group Agro-Region.
Agro-Region is currently in the prime season for collecting grain for exports. Around 100 farmers from Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Khmelnytskyi bring their rapeseed and wheat to Agro-Region, who has a capacity of 4,000 tons of grain. Even with rolling blackouts, Agro-Region continues to receive grain from farmers with the help of the USAID-provided generator.
“Thanks to the help of USAID, [Agro Region Boryspil] plans to increase the volume of farm grain purchases, expand the list of partner farms and find the best conditions for cooperation,” says Vitaly Shevchuk, Head of the Boryspil Elevator at Agro-Region. “USAID’s assistance will also ensure uninterrupted grain receiving, storage, and processing services at the elevator in Boryspil and other facilities in Velyka Oleksandrivka.”
During the discussion with the Ambassador and Agro-Region representatives, Agro-Region’s partner farmers talked about how they work during the war and the challenges they face, such as damaged agricultural machinery, mobilization of workers, and power outages. Farmers also thanked the U.S. government for the support they provide to the Ukrainian people during the war.
“We have been working with Agro-Region for more than eight years, and they are a reliable partner,” shared Farm Owner Pavlo Petrov from Brovary district. “Every year I see how the company changes, becomes more modern, which helps me understand export trends. Despite power outages, weather conditions, and changes in fuel prices, we continue to sow grain. We believe that this year we will have higher quality grain, so we will sell it at a higher price,” he continued.
Despite difficult spring conditions coupled with power outages, farmers hope that this year’s grain will be of higher quality than last year, so that exporters like Agro-Region can offer them top prices and move more grain with USAID-provided equipment.
Background: Assistance to agricultural producers and infrastructure companies is part of the Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) – Ukraine, implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It aims to help Ukraine increase its capacity to produce, store, transport, and export grain.