The FAO Ukraine team is a group of like-minded professionals who are extremely committed to their work. Before the war, the team already worked hard to support farmers across the country.
The recent conflict has significantly affected the lives of the team members, forcing some of them to move to another city, or even another country, in search of safety. Many will not be able to return, as their houses no longer exist. Yet not a single member of some 100 staff has ever stopped working to ensure the food security of people in Ukraine, especially those in conflict-affected areas, and the team is scaling-up to better address the challenging situation.
“As of July 2022, we have already supported over 30 622 families with agricultural inputs and multi-purpose cash assistance”, said Pierre Vauthier, FAO Ukraine Designated Responsible Officer. “We work together towards a joint goal to improve the availability of, and access to food for vulnerable farming families in rural areas.” The team has provided seed-potatoes to 16 855 households and vegetable kits to 20 147 households, while some were assisted with both types of support.
“FAO helps Ukrainians not only to survive, but also to find decent work and support their families to cover basic needs,” said Kateryna Miesiura, FAO Area Coordinator in the south of Ukraine.
Nadiia Zubko, a resident of Khlopchytsi, now feels more relaxed about her family’s food security. “There will be no wheat [this year] but the potatoes will feed me, my family, everyone.”
The FAO Ukraine team contributes to both life and livelihood saving interventions through the Rapid Response Plan (RRP), which aims to assist nearly 1 million vulnerable people. Through the Grain Storage Support Strategy, an extension of RRP, FAO supports the Government to provide temporary storage for 4.07 million tonnes of grain, or 25 percent of estimated national need, with the necessary technical support and equipment, and to strengthen the national capacity for food commodity testing and certifications required for export at border facilities.
Whether it’s extreme traffic, blocked roads or petrol shortages, the FAO team remains on the ground and works tirelessly to ensure no farmers are left behind.
