Last week, on March 6, a meeting of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Agrarian and Land Policy (committee hearings) on the topic: "State support of the agricultural sector in 2024" was held under the chairmanship of Committee Chairman Oleksandr Haydu.

First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi, director of the Department of Development of the Real Sector of the Economy of the Ministry of Economy Roman Kropyvnytskyi, director of the Department of Expenditures of the Production Sector of the Ministry of Finance Artem Navrata, senior advisor of the Office of Food and of the United Nations Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Ukraine Mykhailo Malkov, Head of the Land Reform Department of the USAID "AGRO" Program Serhii Kubakh, Chairman of the Board of the LLC "Fund for Partial Guarantee of Credits in Agriculture" Oleh Prykhodko, leaders and representatives of public associations and specialized agricultural associations.

During the speeches, the issue of state support for the agricultural sector of Ukraine in 2024 was highlighted. The main programs of state support and their financing for 2024 were published in the previous information of March 7.

From the NGO "Ukrainian Nut Association" in the meeting of the Agrarian Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, the president of the association Hennadiy Yudin took part and spoke about the problem of lack of funding for all horticultural enterprises that receive their own harvest in gardens and plan to develop processing facilities for its primary technological processing.

Currently, in more detail on the essence of this problem.

Thanks to the State Horticulture Support Programs for the period 2018-2024. 14,488 hectares of new gardens were planted in Ukraine (as of March 6, 2024).

Currently, industrial gardens are actively entering the phase of commercial fruiting. Every year, more and more horticultural agricultural enterprises will face the need for primary processing of fruits after harvesting.

With regard to nuts, the harvested crop of nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts) immediately after its collection in industrial gardens is subject to mandatory primary processing, which includes a number of sequentially performed technological operations: cleaning, washing, drying, calibration, packaging of nuts for storage harvest After the aforementioned technological operations, the nuts are used for their further promotion: sale (including for export), further in-depth processing - peeling, blanching, production of nut products and ingredients, etc.

Industrial orchards of stone and seed fruit crops also have appropriate technologies for primary processing of fruits after harvesting.

A significant part of horticultural agricultural enterprises, horticultural farmers plan to purchase equipment for primary processing of fruits with the help of the current grant program in accordance with the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 739 "Some issues of granting grants to processing enterprises" dated 06.24.2022. (hereinafter - resolution of the KMU-739).

Several horticultural enterprises have already applied for grant funds with business projects for the development of processing facilities for the primary technological processing of the harvest collected in the gardens, but their applications were rejected.

In our opinion, the problem is as follows.

According to paragraph 10 of the CMU-739, the recipient of grant funds in his application indicates the type of economic activity in accordance with KVED DC 009:2010 (hereinafter - KVED).

According to KVED, the cultivation of perennial crops belongs to Section A Group 01.2 Classes 01.21 - 01.29, which are among the main ones for most horticultural enterprises. At the same time, the division of section A includes only the cultivation of crops, and the activity of further processing of products is classified in accordance with KVED in Section C Processing industry.

In turn, only types of economic activity of Section C Processing industry are suitable for receiving grant funds according to the resolution of the KMU-739.

At the request of the Ukrainian Nut Association, an official clarification was received from the State Statistics Service on the impossibility of using KVED Section C by horticultural enterprises for primary processing of the harvest collected in orchards (cleaning, washing, drying). The position of the State Statistics Service - primary technological processing of the harvest in gardens should be classified according to KVED: Section A Group 01.2.

Therefore, today the situation has arisen that all horticultural enterprises that receive their own harvest and plan to develop processing facilities for its primary technological processing will not be able to participate in the grant program according to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 739 "Some issues of granting grants to processing enterprises".

Gennady Yudin addressed this problem on behalf of the horticultural enterprises of the Ukrainian Nut Association and Vinnytsiasadvinprom corporation.

Currently, the primary technological processing of the harvest collected in gardens is the primary link for further, more in-depth processing of fruits and the production of other food products and ingredients from them, therefore the possibility of obtaining grant funds for the purchase of this equipment is an urgent need for gardeners.

At the end of the committee hearings, the Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Agrarian and Land Policy Oleksandr Haydu thanked the participants of the meeting for constructive discussion of problematic issues and suggestions.

The Ukrainian Nut Association together with the corporation "Vinnytsiasadvinprom" (General Director S. Boychuk) sent their proposals for solving the above-mentioned problem to the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Agrarian and Land Policy.

...In her speech, the First Vice-Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yuliya Svyridenko, on the broadcast of the Yedyni Novyny telethon, noted, I quote: "The new economic ideology of Ukraine should be processing, because we should be a country that does not export raw materials, but exports finished products, which are more expensive"...

The Walnut Association together with the Vinnytsyasadvinprom corporation are planning further steps to resolve this issue and others to improve state support for gardeners. In addition, we offer horticultural agricultural enterprises, gardeners-farmers to submit their proposals on problematic issues of state support to the corporation "Vinnytsiasadvinprom" (tel. 0678880341, email: vinsadvinprom@ukr.net ) and the Ukrainian Nut Association (tel. 0675230985, email: ukr.nuts2008@gmail .com ).

We will inform our gardeners about the progress of this work in the following messages.

...There is an ancient and wise saying - "The road will be overcome by the one who walks."

Join us - let's go together!

Hennadiy Yudin, President of the Ukrainian Nut Association.

Serhii Boychuk, General Director of Vinnytsyasadvinprom Corporation