Main points
- Ukraine should receive automatic access to EU subsidies after accession to avoid significant costs for farmers to adapt to EU standards.
- The lack of subsidies could lead to increased competition with European producers, threatening small and medium-sized agribusiness in Ukraine.
EU accession will hit farmers / Photo by Magnific
Ukraine must ensure that farmers have automatic access to EU subsidies after joining the European Union. Otherwise, small farmers will have to cover the significant costs of adapting to European standards on their own.
The Rada called for seeking EU subsidies for Ukrainian farmers
Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Agricultural Committee Stepan Chernyavsky said that the government should insist on including Ukrainian farmers in the EU subsidy system within the framework of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) immediately after Ukraine's accession, AgroPolit.com reports. According to the MP, the refusal of such support could be a serious blow to small and medium-sized farmers.
He commented on the statement of Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka about the possibility of temporarily postponing Ukraine's receipt of EU subsidies.
Stepan Chernyavsky
People's Deputy, Deputy Chairman of the Agrarian Committee of the Verkhovna Rada
In my opinion, this cannot be done. On the contrary, we should think today about Ukraine's sensitive agrarian groups and their preservation in the process of European integration. Such a group is farmers.
The specialist added that European integration remains Ukraine's strategic course, but the process of entering the European market must be safe for Ukrainian producers.
Farmers will have to spend up to 180 euros per hectare
According to the deputy, without financial support from the EU, Ukrainian farmers will be forced to independently spend from 150 to 180 euros per hectare of land to implement European production standards.
This involves technical re-equipment of farms, modernization of production processes, and adaptation to EU standards. In the context of war and post-war reconstruction, such costs may become unaffordable for many farms.
For this, there are EU subsidies, which should become a bridge for farmers so that they become a reliable link in Europe's agricultural infrastructure,
– explained Chernyavsky.
In his opinion, without support, Ukrainian producers will not be able to compete with farmers from European Union countries, who already receive significant state subsidies.
European manufacturers may occupy the Ukrainian market
The deputy also warned that the lack of financial support for Ukrainian farmers could lead to increased expansion of European companies in the domestic market of Ukraine.
According to him, the greatest risk concerns small and medium-sized agribusiness, which will not be able to compete with EU producers, in particular Polish companies in the dairy sector and food industry.
It is impossible to open the internal market without EU support for Ukrainian farmers, because this would be a banal surrender of the internal market and the destruction of small and medium-sized agricultural production in Ukraine,
– said Chernyavsky.
He recalled that there are currently about 50,000 farms operating in Ukraine, which are the basis of the economic life of rural areas and an important component of the country's food security.
What subsidies do Polish farmers receive?
As an example, the European Commission has proposed to allocate more than 24.5 billion euros to Poland within the new EU budget for 2028-2034. This includes funds to support agriculture and farms.
As Polskie Radio notes, this amount is the minimum guaranteed amount of funding for the agricultural sector. The final decision will depend on whether all EU member states unanimously support the European Commission's proposals.
The largest amount of funds in the new budget is planned to be allocated to France – almost 51 billion euros. Next in terms of funding are Spain, Germany and Italy, each of which could receive more than 30 billion euros in agricultural support.
Poland ranks fifth in this ranking. At the same time, after 2027, the structure of the EU budget will change: a separate rural development program will no longer be provided for, and the system of financing agricultural policy will be different.
Farmers ask to include used equipment in the frontline areas support program
At the same time, domestic support for Ukrainian farmers from the government is quite substantial and includes compensation for purchased equipment, although the current system has a number of shortcomings.
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Farmers are calling for a review of the state compensation program to include support for used equipment for frontline areas.
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The government updated compensation rules, allowing reimbursement of up to 40% of the cost of equipment for farms in combat zones.
The Government explains such changes by the need to support farmers working in difficult security conditions, as well as to stimulate demand for Ukrainian engineering products. Participation in the program is available to farms registered in the State Agrarian Register and located in designated communities.