The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a three-year plan to help Ukraine’s struggling farms survive the war and start rebuilding. The Emergency and Early Recovery Response Plan for 2026–2028 focuses on protecting farmers’ livelihoods, restoring damaged infrastructure, and keeping the country’s food system from collapsing, according to an FAO announcement. Agriculture remains critical for Ukraine’s food security, jobs, and economy—even as the war grinds on.
The war has hit farmers hard. Many can’t reach their land because of unexploded bombs and mines. Equipment is destroyed, workers have fled, and production costs keep climbing. In frontline areas, the damage is worst—fields are abandoned, storage facilities are wrecked, and getting crops to market is nearly impossible. These problems have disrupted planting seasons and left the sector barely functioning.
“The war has significantly complicated the lives of Ukrainian farmers—from access to land and machinery to the ability to market their produce,” said Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.
The FAO plan tackles these problems by linking emergency help with longer-term recovery efforts. It prioritizes getting vulnerable rural families and small farmers back to producing food while clearing land of explosives and helping them reach markets again.
The plan has three main parts: coordinating aid based on solid data, delivering emergency agricultural support, and jumpstarting early recovery. Special attention goes to frontline regions, women, young people, displaced families, and returnees. Clearing land of explosive hazards is treated as essential—without it, farmers can’t safely work their fields or restart production.
“Ukraine’s rural communities cannot afford a pause between emergency response and recovery,” said Shakhnoza Muminova, Head of FAO in Ukraine. “This Plan is designed to bridge that gap.”
FAO currently has $25.9 million in active projects in Ukraine, with $24 million going to emergency and early recovery work. But more money is needed to expand help and stop farms from failing completely.
