The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has set out a plan to restore agricultural capacity in Ukraine.
Announced on the FAO’s website on 6 January, the agency said its Emergency and Early Recovery Response Plan for Ukraine for 2026/2028 set out an integrated, multi-year approach linking immediate agricultural assistance with early recovery and resilience-building interventions.
In the plan, priority would be given to safeguarding food production for vulnerable rural families and small-scale farmers, while contributing to the restoration of productive assets, supporting targeted rehabilitation of agricultural land and strengthening pathways towards market-oriented and climate-resilient production, the FAO said.
“The war has significantly complicated the lives of Ukrainian farmers – from access to land and machinery to the ability to market their produce,” said Taras Vysotskyi, Ukraine’s deputy minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.
“At the same time, the agricultural sector remains vital to food security, employment and economic stability in the country. This is why, together with our partners, we are investing in the resilience of rural families and the future of Ukraine’s food systems.”
In frontline war regions, agricultural infrastructure had been destroyed, access to land constrained by remains of explosives and producers faced labour shortages and rising production costs, the FAO said.
These factors had disrupted production cycles, limited market access and weakened the agricultural sector’s capacity to operate beyond basic survival, the agency added.
“Ukraine’s rural communities cannot afford a pause between emergency response and recovery,” said Shakhnoza Muminova, head of FAO in Ukraine.
“This plan is designed to bridge that gap – protecting livelihoods now, restoring safe access to land and supporting farmers and rural families to rebuild production. Continued, predictable support is critical to prevent deeper losses and to sustain recovery efforts over time.”
The plan is structured around three mutually reinforcing pillars: evidence and coordination; emergency agriculture and early recovery.
Taken together, the pillars aimed to ensure that assistance was targeted, data-driven and aligned with national priorities, while supporting the gradual transition from humanitarian assistance toward recovery and longer-term resilience, the FAO said.
Special emphasis would be placed on frontline regions, women and young people, internally displaced persons and returnees, as well as on the rehabilitation of agricultural land affected by explosive hazards – a pre-requisite for restoring production, strengthening food security and enabling safe economic activity in rural areas.
The FAO said its active portfolio in Ukraine totalled US$25.9M, of which US$24M was dedicated to emergency and early recovery activities. Additional resources were required to expand coverage, prevent further erosion of productive capacity and ensure that agriculture remained a foundation for recovery and long-term development.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the FAO said it had supported more than 300,000 rural families and nearly 17,000 small-scale agrifood enterprises. Assistance had included seeds, animal feed, poultry kits, grain storage solutions, generators, irrigation systems, cash and vouchers and matching grants.
In addition, the FAO had identified over 1M craters via satellite analysis of 2.37M ha.
Based on a multi-criteria prioritisation process – including agricultural use, accessibility and feasibility of clearance – 32,000ha had been identified for mine action interventions.
To date, farmers and rural families cultivating over 22,000ha had received targeted support to resume agricultural activities, the FAO said.
