Canada contributes $40 million to cover 2.4 million tonnes of storage
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new $40 million (Canadian Dollar 52 million) Canada-funded project to further address grain storage shortages in Ukraine.
The initiative will allow storage of an additional 2.4 million tonnes of grain between 2022-2023 along with related technical support and equipment. This complements the support of $17 million recently provided by the Government of Japan to cover 1 million tonnes of grain storage.
The recently developed Grain Storage Support Strategy – an extension to the FAO Ukraine Rapid Response Plan (RRP) – aims to support the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine to cover 4.07 million tonnes, or 25 percent, of the total estimated national storage deficit of 16 million tons in 2022-23. The strategy also includes the support of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection to process and export agricultural products from Ukraine, by strengthening government capacity for food commodity testing and certifications necessary for export at border facilities.
To date, with the additional funds from Canada, FAO has raised $70.4 million against the total of $180.4 million needed under the Rapid Response Plan and Grain Storage Support Strategy. An additional $110 million are urgently needed to support vulnerable households in rural areas.
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