USAID AGRO to provide Ukrainian farmers with 12,000 tonnes of fertilizers for autumn sowing campaign

MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - The United States government will provide Ukrainian farmers with 12,000 tonnes of fertilizers for free via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) AGRO program to conduct a sowing campaign in the fall, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry.

Ukraine previously covered 75% of domestic demand for nitrogen fertilizers. However, their production decreased during the crisis due to logistical problems, disruption of production chains, and the rising cost of raw materials, the ministry said. "This has limited the access of micro, small, and medium farmers to fertilizers. USAID will help agricultural producers provide their farms with the necessary fertilizers in the fall and continue to work next year," it said.

Eligible for the program are farmers cultivating from 5 to 500 hectares of farmland in any region of Ukraine (except for the territories not under Kiev's control), growing grain or leguminous crops, and are registered as legal entities or individual entrepreneurs, i.e. family farms.

They will be able to receive 1 tonne of NPK fertilizer each (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium 16:16:16/15:15:15) for basal and sowing application.

Registration for receiving support has already begun through the State Agrarian Register's section titled NPK fertilizers from USAID AGRO 2023. The registration will continue as long as the declared fertilizer volume remains available.

The USAID AGRO program will hold an open webinar concerning the terms of assistance on July 20, 2023.

As reported earlier, USAID launched a number of programs in 2022 to mitigate the global food crisis, which was worsened by the crisis in Ukraine. In spring 2023, USAID provided over 8,200 Ukrainian farmers with more than 6,300 tonnes of fertilizers and seeds to sow over 48,300 hectares of land with sunflower and 15,000 hectares with corn.