February 5, 2024

Ukrainian agriculture: current opportunities

The needs of the Ukrainian agricultural industry against the background of the challenges it faces make it possible to identify and assess new commercial and investment opportunities for Ukrainian and foreign businesses. At the same time, such opportunities are not limited to the agricultural sector.

As part of the restoration and reconstruction of the Ukrainian agribusiness, promising areas are being actively developed, as discussed below.

Construction and reconstruction of agricultural storage facilities

• repair and construction of grain storage facilities (elevators, granaries);
• production and supply of grain storage sleeves;
• supply, manufacture, and repair of equipment for grain storage and conditioning (grain dryers, conveyors, bucket elevators, etc.);
• supply, repair, and installation of power supply infrastructure for grain and vegetable storage facilities;
• repair and construction of storage facilities for vegetables, fruits, and berries;
• supply, manufacture, and repair of equipment for vegetable storage (ventilation systems, sorting equipment, cooling systems, etc.).

Construction and reconstruction of livestock farms

• repair and construction of dairy farms;
• supply and installation of equipment for keeping, feeding, and watering livestock (boxes, fences, floors, bunkers, feeders), farm ventilation (installation of ventilation curtains, light and ventilation ridges), etc;
• supply and installation of milking equipment (machine milking units, milk pipelines, milking machines, collectors), temporary storage (refrigerators) and milk transportation (milk trucks);
• supply of genetic material.

Reconstruction, construction, and upgrading of greenhouses

• construction and reconstruction of glass and film tunnel greenhouses;
• production, supply, and installation of equipment for greenhouses (mounting structures, films, glass coverings, heating, drip irrigation and lighting systems, automated process control systems, etc.);
• modernisation and implementation of new energy-saving technologies to reduce dependence on natural gas;
• introduction of new technologies for growing agricultural products in greenhouses.

Reconstruction and construction of small and medium-sized processing complexes

• for processing vegetable products (production of juices, pastes, concentrates, etc.);
• for processing industrial hemp;
• for fast freezing of vegetables, fruits, berries;
• for processing meat and dairy products (manufacturing of end products, freezing, canning).

Growing and processing of niche crops (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, arnica, medicinal plants)

Growing eco-products

• implementing technologies for growing eco-products;
• supply of eco-products seed material.

Restoration and setting up of perennial plantations

• introducing new cultivation technologies;
• supply of seedlings.

Supply of agricultural machinery and spare parts, including on leasing terms

Consulting services

• consulting and training in the field of agricultural technologies;
• consulting and training in management technologies, business, and marketing;
• legal consulting;
• engineering;
• bringing technologies and products in line with the requirements of EU markets.

Construction of logistics hubs and transport infrastructure

Provision of services (refrigerated trucks, transport of liquid and bulk food products)

Cleaning water bodies and water intakes, construction of water treatment facilities and water purification systems in areas that have been contaminated

 Restoration of land improvement systems

• clearing amelioration canals;
• constructing pumping stations and installing water pumping equipment;
• supplying and installing equipment for field irrigation and water delivery.

Services and works aimed at overcoming the direct consequences of hostilities are a special focus area. They include:

• field demining;
• dismantling of fortifications;
• dismantling of destroyed buildings, removal and disposal of construction waste and residues.

Among these services, demining is currently the highest priority. Best estimates put the area of mined farmland at 4.8 million hectares, with demining costs averaging USD 3-4 per square metre.

The World Bank estimates the total cost of humanitarian demining in Ukraine at USD 37.4 billion. The needs for 2023 alone amount to more than USD 397 million.

Demining in Ukraine is carried out by certified mine action operators. Typical mine action services include:

• information work (e.g. educating children in schools about the danger of mines, commissioning social advertising, training sappers, etc.);
• non-technical survey (basically a visual inspection of the area, including by drone, interviewing people, collecting data from open sources on whether the area is suspected of being mined, which makes it possible to narrow down the search for explosive ordnance);
• technical survey (a more thorough inspection using metal detectors, frames, etc.);
• manual demining (where mines or other projectiles can be safely removed from the area of potential damage without the use of equipment) or with the use of equipment;
• clearing the area of hostilities;
• disposal (destruction) of mines/explosive remnants of war (this is effectively carried out only by state structures, although in theory Ukrainian legislation does not prohibit private operators from obtaining permits for such activities).

Global practice shows that these services are usually funded by donors, which makes them accessible not only to large agribusinesses but also to small and medium-sized agricultural producers. This, in turn, allows small and medium-sized mine action operators to enter the market.