UKRAINE / GRAIN SLEEVES DISTRIBUTION

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) distributed over 30 000 grain sleeves to support Ukrainian farmers with temporary storage solutions.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) distributed over 30 000 grain sleeves to support Ukrainian farmers with temporary storage solutions.

This assistance will ensure the grain is properly stored and farmers are able to keep the production, sell and export grain when appropriate for better prices.

Together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, FAO is providing Ukrainian farmers with sleeves able to hold 200 tons of grain each and supporting machinery for loading and unloading the sleeves.

The country’s capacity of granaries before the war was 75 million tons. Due to the war, which caused the destruction of infrastructure, a lack of exports and low prices for grain, storage space for this year's harvest is in a critical shortage. According to preliminary estimates, the national need for grain storage is 16 million tons. 

“This is crucial because it helps the farmers to be able to sell the grain and to keep the grain safe,” said FAO’s Pierre Vauthier during the distribution of the material in Lvivska oblast.

The program is implemented with the financial support of the governments of Canada, Japan, and the Australian philanthropic organization Minderoo Foundation, totalling USD 60.5 million. 

As of 21 November, some 875 farmers have already received a total of over 18 500 sleeves. In general, 1 898 Ukrainian agricultural producers will receive 30 795 allocated sleeves. Submission of applications and receipt of notification with confirmation were carried out in two rounds through the Ukrainian State Agrarian Registry (SAR). 

The main criteria for the participants of the program to qualify for receiving grain sleeves was owning a cultivated plot of land from 100 to 10 000 ha in the territories under the control of the government of Ukraine.

“We are on the way of finalizing the distribution of the sleeves,” said Vauthier, “and I do believe that we will be on time for the farmers being able to harvest and store all the grain.”

This assistance to small farmers and enterprises is part of FAO’s Grain Storage Support Strategy, which aims to address 25 percent of the national storage deficit of 16 million tonnes. This support is very much needed for storing grain in preparation for the winter season, as well as to support and ensure food security not only in Ukraine but also worldwide. 

Most of the distributed sleeves and equipment are manufactured in Ukraine, which in turn supports the local economy during this difficult time.

STORY: UKRAINE / GRAIN SLEEVES DISTRIBUTION

TRT: 3:01

SOURCE: FAO

RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS

DATELINE: 8 NOVEMBER 2022, LVIVSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE / RECENT

SHOTLIST

4 NOVEMBER 2022, VOLYNSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE

1. Med shot, machines loading sleeves with grain

2. Close up, grain

3. Wide shot, grin sleeves being loaded

4. Wide shot, grain sleeves

5. Wide shot, machinery and people walking around

8 NOVEMBER 2022, LVIVSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE 

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Pierre Vauthier, Head of FAO Ukraine Country Office: 

“Most probably more than 50% of the grain storage capacity in Ukraine has been disabilitated due to the war and, due to the fact that the export was not possible anymore, there's an accumulation of grain in the country. So the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food asked us (FAO) to develop a strategy, which we did in July, in order to be able to find solutions for the farmers in order to store the grain not in the main silos but very directly in the in the field. This in order to allow them to buy time, in order to be able to export later on the grain and to adapt to the current situations.”

27 OCTOBER 2022, CHERNIHIVSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE

7. Zoom out, from destroyed roof to new machinery

8. Pan left, donated machinery

8 NOVEMBER 2022, LVIVSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE 

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Pierre Vauthier, Head of FAO Ukraine Country Office:

”This is crucial because it helps the farmers to be able to sell the grain and to keep the grain safe. But also, to sell it at the right time in order to avoid to have also disruptions in the global markets. So this is crucial. And they asked us (FAO) to deliver that by November, by the end of November. And FAO did it. So, at the moment, we are in the middle of November, and we are on the way of finalizing the distribution of the sleeves. And I do believe that we will be on time for the farmers being able to harvest and store all the grain.” 

4 NOVEMBER 2022, VOLYNSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE

10. Pan right, shipment of sleeves

11. Close up, label on sleeves’ package with donors’ logos

12. Various shots, loading of material

8 NOVEMBER 2022, LVIVSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE 

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Pierre Vauthier, Head of FAO Ukraine Country Office:

“On top of that, we are also helping the government of Ukraine, which asked  also for support in order to rehabilitate the laboratory in Izmail, which is absolutely crucial since it's a secondary port for exporting to the world the grain that Ukraine is producing. So, FAO is rehabilitating, bringing some equipment, but also refurbishing the laboratory there in order to accelerate the export capacity at Izmail point.” 

27 OCTOBER 2022, CHERNIHIVSKA OBLAST, UKRAINE

14. Pan right, sleeves in the field

15. Wide shot, sleeves filled with grain