World Bank to allocate $550 mln to support Ukraine's agricultural sector

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - The World Bank (WB) said it will allocate $550 million to help more than 90,000 farmers in Ukraine to access affordable loans and receive grants for agricultural production.

"The Ukraine Agriculture Recovery Inclusive Support Emergency (ARISE) Project will provide access to affordable finance for agricultural producers in 2023 and 2024. The project will help mobilize about $1.5 billion in working capital for farmers," Ukrainian media quoted the WB as saying on Tuesday.

The funding for the ARISE project consists of a $230 million WB loan, backed by a credit enhancement from the Advancing Needed Credit Enhancement for Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine) Trust Fund, supported by the Japanese government. The funding also includes a $320 million grant from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Multi-Donor Trust Fund (URTF).

"The innovative project design allows for additional funding of up to $150 million as further World Bank and donor support materializes," the statement said.

The ARISE project will be implemented by the Ukrainian Business Development Fund and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food. It is the fifth WB project approved for Ukraine this year through an innovative and flexible framework model that is designed to quickly get mobilized partner resources to where funding is needed most, and which can be scaled up as necessary when additional funding becomes available.

Over the next year, the WB and the Ukrainian government will continue focusing on investments and critical reforms in priority sectors including energy, health, social protection, education, housing, and agriculture, the statement said.