5 Aug 2022 19:15

USAID to issue 300 mln hryvni in up to 15 sub-grants to Ukrainian agrarians

MOSCOW. Aug 5 (Interfax) - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will issue up to 15 sub-grants to Ukrainian farmers worth in total about 300 million hryvni under a program of supporting Ukrainian micro, small and medium-sized businesses producing and trading in grain to have access to grain storage and drying services.

Ukrainian media reported citing a USAID press release on Friday that the funding is intended to provide resource, technical and expert support to the said businesses to help them preserve grain products they have grown and strengthen business resilience.

The sub-grant funds will be used to purchase means of production, including agricultural equipment for processing, drying and storing grain, consumables for grain storage, and materials for constructing temporary granaries, including modular ones, and to reimburse the costs of expert, laboratory, educational, and information support, as well as organizational and administrative expenses of sub-recipients.

The sub-grants under the agreement will be valid for one year, and its implementation should tentatively begin on September 30, 2022.

USAID is accepting applications for sub-grants, which are supposed to include a technical proposal, budget description, and accompanying documents, until September 5. Proposals will be considered on the FIFO basis, and therefore, applicants are strongly advised to submit their applications as early as possible.

As reported earlier, a shortage of grain elevator capacity in Ukraine was estimated at 15 million tonnes in 2022-2023 marketing year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced an international tender in early August to purchase mobile grain storage equipment for Ukraine, which should help resolve the problem in 2022-2023.

In addition, with financial support from Canada, FAO started a new $40-million project to resolve the problem of a lack of grain storage capacity in Ukraine, which should guarantee the storage of 2.4 million tonnes of grain in 2022-2023, including the provision of technical support and equipment.