Project profile — Engaging the Private Sector for Small and Medium-Sized Farm Business Development

• Ukraine (100.00%)

• Communication: Information and communication technology (ICT) (22040) (20.00%)
• Agricultural development:
Agricultural development (31120) (45.00%)
Agricultural extension (31166) (15.00%)
Agricultural services (31191) (12.00%)
Agricultural financial services (31193) (8.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (significant objective)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (significant objective)

The project aims to improve the performance and increase the revenues of 20,000 small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises in Ukraine. By building the capacity of private sector agricultural input distributors, the project is using their existing network as a channel for delivering technical advice, transfer skills, and develop and provide financial products that respond to small and medium-scale farmers’ needs. While the project focuses on farmers producing grain, fruit, and vegetables, their increased productivity is expected to benefit the broader agriculture sector in Ukraine. The project is testing new farming methods and providing training, coaching, and innovative tools in three areas: (1) sustainable farm management and crop growing practices using modern information and communication technologies; (2) marketing by enabling farmers to meet the requirements of the retail and export markets; and (3) access to financing. The project is implemented in partnership with commercial agricultural input suppliers, banks, grocery chains, and agriculture extension service providers.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) improved sustainable management of small and medium-scale farm businesses (SMFBs), particularly those led by women; (2) improved integration of SMFBs into food supply chains based on the reliable supply of safe and quality products; and (3) increased number and size of bank loans to SMFBs.

Results achieved by the project as of June 2016 include: i) improved knowledge of sustainable farm management practices by input distributors, agriculture extension service providers and farmers by: developing and rolling out of Training of Trainers agro-solutions programs (ex: tillage, corn, soybeans, plant nutrition, field control); and training of representatives from Bayer and its distributors; ii) financing facilitated for more than 840 farmers amounting 156 million in USD including through the launching of Bayer Promissory Note financing program in partnership with Raiffeisen Bank Avail which allowed 190 farmers to access 5.4 million USD financing to purchase high quality crop protection products and seeds at a 1% interest rate for 9 months; iii) the project has promoted the Canadian expertise through a partnership with Ag Growth International (AGI), a Canadian provider of on-farm grain postharvest handling and storage solutions. The project has developed a dealer manual for Ukrainian AGI dealers as well as educational programs for farmers on grain storage and handling solutions and financing, which facilitated sales (1 million USD) for AGI equipment for five Ukrainian farmers; iv) the project conducted intensive educational and communications campaigns at the international, national, regional and client levels (ex: 56 media materials published via 30 media channels with a total coverage of more than 4 million people; more than 1,600 distributors, input suppliers and bank staff members trained at 81 educational events; 8,493 farmers trained by the project trained trainers (dealers, input suppliers and financial institutions)). In total, more than 20,000 farmers were reached directly and indirectly (via the project clients and partners). These results have contributed to strengthening agricultural input providers and local distributors’ capacity to provide better and more effective services in order to improve the performance of small and medium farmers in a sustainable manner.

• Proactive disclosure