USAID, through its Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), enabled three Ukrainian small-sized agricultural companies buy grain transshipment equipment from Kobzarenko Plant, a Ukrainian agricultural machinery manufacturer, at a 30% discount. So far, Glek Farm acquired a “Kovcheh” ground transshipment bunker, Agrofirm Viktoria purchased a belt loader, and Dnipro Logistics obtained a wagon loader. The equipment will enable these companies to transship 150,000 tons of grain annually, improving their operational efficiency.
The USAID initiative allows small and medium-sized Ukrainian agricultural companies with annual revenues under EUR 40 million purchase equipment at 70% of the original cost, making essential machinery more accessible to improve logistics and boost exports. By USAID covering the 30%, it also helps the Ukrainian manufacturer Kobzarenko Plant continue operations, support the value-add manufacturing, and boost the local economy.
Spotlight
Glek Farm, a family-owned smallholding in Kherson Oblast, specializes in wheat and oilseed cultivation. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the farm’s fields and assets fell under immediate occupation. During the following nine months, Russia’s forces destroyed 95% of the farm’s assets and left its fields heavily mined and sown with explosives. Even after the liberation of Kherson Oblast in fall 2022, the company could not launch its spring sowing campaign in 2023, instead focusing all efforts on demining and rebuilding.
In 2023, Glek Farm received a tractor with seeder through Victory Harvest, a Howard G. Buffett Foundation initiative that supports Ukrainian farms affected by Russia’s invasion. Provided for temporary use equipment enabled the company to complete its fall 2023 sowing campaign and spring 2024 planting, and a combine harvester from the same program allowed them to collect their crops this year. Despite a Russia’s missile attack that caused a fire and completely burned a barley field in June 2024, the firm continues to operate. USAID’s initiative to make equipment affordable has been instrumental in Glek Farm’s recovery process.