Agriculture & Rural Development

The agri-food sector is of great significance for Ukraine: it is one of the largest sectors in the country with an annual turnover of around EUR 16 billion, and it employs 15% of the total workforce. It is a key contributor to economic growth in rural regions, representing about 9% of Ukraine’s GDP. The majority of players in the sector are farmers, SMEs, Mid-Caps or cooperatives. Ukraine has some of the best soils and biggest agricultural potential in Europe and leads the world in extensive production and trade in cereals and oil crops. Despite this, the country suffers from significant rural poverty, a lack of investment in added-value production and small-scale rural enterprise and farms, and from a significant demographic shift away from rural areas. Almost seven million people across Ukraine have agricultural land. Small family farms and households contribute significantly to agricultural production, but most lack collateral, equipment, access to private or public investment finance, agri-insurance or are unable to access formal markets or add value to basic production. They have little access to information, advice or training and few organise themselves in any commercial way as producer organisations.