Farmers denote effective cooperation with the Government within a framework of work about support programs and hope for a long-term trend of development of farms. This was discussed at a briefing by the leadership of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Association of Farmers and Landowners of Ukraine (AFZU) devoted to system of state support to the agroindustrial complex for the current year, within the framework of which was planned to allocate 1 billion UAH for the development of farms.
«This is the first Government, with whom the constructive cooperation has been established with farmers. If that were not the case, we wouldn`t have the first 20 years of state conception of the development of farming, not 1 billion UAH in the budget that allows it to be realized, not personification of responsibility for this direction in the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food in the person of the Deputy Minister»,- said Ivan Tomich.
According to the Association of Farmers and Landowners of Ukraine, amount of farms began to increase in 2017, when the Government only declared intention to introduce systemic support for farming, rising from 32.9 thousand to 34.5 thousand, and after a trend towards the resource industry, the positive trend would increase.
«It is a signal towards the European system of rural areas, family farms, a signal of growth and hope »- said Ivan Tomich. He noted that the three-year horizon of state support, provided for by the concept of development farming, provides an opportunity to provide a long-term growth trend and double the number of farms.
First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Maxim Martynyuk said that the mechanism of implementation of state support programs was developed jointly with the association of farmers, according to which the resource will be directed directly to farmers and small producers, as well as cooperatives. «The need for support of farming is due not only to economic, but also social motives, as the development of rural entrepreneurship will positively affect the development of rural areas and will partially solve the problem of unemployment»,- he summed up.
State support of farming will provide for several directions: compensation of the cost of seeds; compensation of the cost of purchased equipment and equipment of Ukrainian production; cheaper advisory services; reimbursement of equipment costs for berry and dairy cooperatives.
The Government provides state assistance to private households for keeping calves of cattle up to 1 year old in the amount of 2,5 thousand UAH per year within the framework of the budget subsidy for livestock breeding.
On February 7 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved agrarian sector support programs for key areas within the framework of the State Budget for 2018. The total amount of support will be 6.3 billion hryvnias.