PHOTO CAPTION: Wheat is being packed in a sleeve at one of the grain storage sites supported by USAID AGRO

Enabling Vital Food Security Efforts in Ukraine

By Tetyana Dudka,
Senior Vice President Europe & Eurasia,
Chemonics

Ukraine is one of the world’s leading grain producers and exporters, but Russia’s invasion of the country prompted dire agricultural supply chain issues and more that threaten both local and global food security. This includes the need to preserve millions of tons of grains that have not been exported because of seaports blockaded by Russia and other export constraints, further exacerbating the mounting food security crisis for Ukraine and all the communities that depend on its bountiful harvest. 

To address the need for immediate grain storage solutions, the Chemonics-implemented Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities (AGRO) activity, within the USAID Agriculture Resilience Initiative, Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), enabled Ukrainian small and medium agricultural producers, which are responsible for half of the grain exports from the country, to store roughly 1.5 million tons of grain from its essential harvests. To achieve this, AGRO purchased and distributed 7,800 storage sleeves and 29 grain loading machines, supported the establishment of 69 modular granaries, and developed elevator capacities. 

In the coming months, AGRO will also provide 6,800 micro and small agricultural producers with sunflower seeds and fertilizers for grain and oil crops followed by consultations, training, and guidance on growing technologies. Additionally, AGRO supports the delivery and logistics of 14 tons of vegetable seeds from other donors, such as beans, peas, beets, carrots, eggplant, onions, and radishes, including those donated by Bayer, which joined the AGRI-Ukraine initiative, to be distributed to an estimated 25,000 households and family farms.

 

MAP CAPTION: Exhibit 1. Map of AGRO-supported grain storage services for farmers: AGRO sub-awardees (orange circles of different size depending on storage volume), grain storage sleeves (red dots), and farmer beneficiaries (green dots).