Ukraine expands humanitarian programme “Grain From Ukraine”
2 July 2024 08:50
The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, has reported significant successes of the humanitarian programme Grain From Ukraine in the context of the war. He wrote about this in Telegram, according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
“Since the launch of this initiative in autumn 2022, we have sent 221,41 thousand tonnes of agricultural products, including 195 thousand tonnes of wheat, 22,265 thousand tonnes of wheat flour and 4,141 thousand tonnes of split peas, to 10 countries in Africa and Asia. This helped to ensure food security for 8 million people!”
– said Yermak.
According to him, the programme operates on a win-win basis:
“Part of our food is bought by the states participating in the project. This is a win-win strategy: our international partners support the Ukrainian economy and at the same time improve the food situation in the world.”
Yermak also spoke about the programme’s expansion plans:
“Ukraine plans to expand the programme to other regions of the world. We are already discussing possible deliveries to Haiti, Chad, Cameroon, Tanzania, Djibouti and other countries.”
Grain From Ukraine
“Grain From Ukraine is a humanitarian food programme launched by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 26 November 2022 during the first International Food Security Summit in Kyiv.
The aim of the programme is to supply Ukrainian grain to countries in Africa and Asia that are facing malnutrition and hunger. This helps to overcome the humanitarian and economic consequences of the global food crisis caused by Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine.
The programme has already achieved significant success. Support worth around USD 220 million has been raised. We have shipped 195,000 tonnes of wheat to the countries with the most difficult food situation. It is planned to send about 60 ships with grain to the poorest countries in Africa.
The programme’s mechanism is that participating countries and private donors buy agricultural products directly from Ukrainian producers and transfer them to countries on the brink of famine. Ukraine assists in organising the logistics.
The recipient countries include Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Sudan, and Kenya. It is also planned to expand to Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar, Djibouti, Liberia, Mauritania, Lebanon and other countries.
The programme is open to any country, non-governmental organisation or private company as a donor.
The programme has four ambassadors: Christopher Fomounho (Cameroon), Charlotte Leslie (UK), Manav Sachdeva (India) and Neven Mimica (Croatia).
“Grain From Ukraine” demonstrates Ukraine’s commitment to its role as a guarantor of food security, despite the consequences of Russian aggression. The programme also commemorates the victims of the Holodomor, preventing the use of hunger as a weapon in the 21st century.
