When living conditions for households along the conflict line in Eastern Ukraine went from bad to worse, help came from the Government of Canada. The allocation of CDN 3 million will bolster and extend FAO’s emergency response and recovery work in the area.

This assistance from Canada, due to start in the coming weeks, will come in the form of farming necessities and technical guidance on marketing and cooperative action by farmers.

Although considered mainly an industrial zone, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are home to thousands of families who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Ninety percent of the vegetables grown here come from family-owned and operated farms. The ongoing conflict and its side effects – lost or reduced incomes, rising prices, lack of access to credit, expensive transport – have imposed severe hardship on these people.