Switzerland is allocating CHF 9 million, or around $11 million, to support Ukraine’s agricultural sector.
The funding was discussed during a meeting between the leadership of Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and Swiss Federal Council Delegate for Ukraine, Ambassador Jacques Gerber, according to the ministry.
Of this amount, CHF 3 million ($3.64 million) will be allocated for temporary grain storage under a project implemented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), while another CHF 6 million ($7.28 million) is planned to support the development of Ukraine’s organic sector over the next three years.
“Today, it is important not to lose the harvest that has already been grown and to ensure that agricultural producers can continue operating. At the same time, we need to develop sectors that generate greater added value — organic production, the dairy and meat sectors, and processing. With limited export opportunities, this makes it possible to generate higher revenues from smaller physical volumes of products and increases the resilience of the agricultural sector,” Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi said during the meeting.
The Swiss side also presented a CHF 30 million programme to support Ukrainian businesses. It will cover sectors including agribusiness, food production and the wood-processing industry.
The programme will provide grants to public authorities, business associations, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Its launch is scheduled for early November.
Another potential area of cooperation is the development of infrastructure for the safe disposal of animal by-products. The Ukrainian side proposed considering a pilot project that would help meet European veterinary and environmental requirements while expanding access to the necessary infrastructure for small producers.
