Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn, soybean seeds and sunflower oil. In 2021, the agricultural sector accounted for more than 40% of the country’s total exports and employed more than 30% of the population.

After the Russian invasion, the sector suffered significant losses due to heavy military fighting and shelling, in the order of billions of euros, for reasons ranging from crop loss (due to landmines, unexploded shells, machine oil spills, post-mortem poison ) to disrupted supply chains through the loss of thousands of destroyed farm equipment, damaged transport infrastructure, agricultural storage capacity and loss of human capital .
In the short term, as far as agricultural machinery and equipment is concerned, manufacturers in Ukraine will need:

• Tractors & harvesters
• Soil preparation equipment
• Seeding equipment
• Sprinklers and fertilizer spreaders
• Grain storage and handling
• Irrigation and drainage systems
• Agricultural chemicals, including growth promoters and micronutrients

In the longer term, small and medium-sized producers will need to invest in grain processing capacity and bioprocess technologies.

In addition to securing new supply chain resources, taking the lead in the development and adoption of high-tech solutions (e.g., robotic farming tools and agroecology, precision application technology through AI), can reveal the nutrient deficiency in farm soil, for example, by saving costs due to potential over-application of nutrients.

The government is allocating $218 million to farmers to buy new equipment and machinery, with international organizations also pledging their support. Private companies are investing in the agricultural sector and individual farmers are finding cost-effective ways to modernize. Despite these efforts, gaps remain in addressing the farm equipment and machinery problem, including a lack of funding, a shortage of skilled technicians, and damaged transportation infrastructure.