Ukraine’s agriculture sector has suffered one of the largest material losses among the country’s economic sectors since the start of the full-scale war. The fifth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5), prepared by the Government of Ukraine in cooperation with the World Bank Group, the European Union, and the United Nations, estimates direct damages to the agricultural sector at $12.1 billion and economic losses at $78 billion. The document covers the period from February 2022 to December 2025 and identifies the sector’s recovery needs at $55.5 billion. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released an updated humanitarian response plan on June 8, 2026, based on these assessments.
Agricultural Losses Over Four Years of War
RDNA5 records the state of the sector over a nearly four-year period of hostilities. The losses reflect the destruction of production capacities, warehouses, livestock complexes, and equipment, while the losses include unrealized income, increased costs, and reduced production volumes. The assessment confirms that the burden on rural households, farms, and food security persists, and the sector’s recovery will require sustained funding and systematic work.
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Mined Land Restricts Access to Fields
A separate block of the assessment is dedicated to the explosive remnants of war and mine contamination. As of December 2025, about 133,000 square kilometers of land and 14,000 square kilometers of water bodies remained at risk of contamination. Explosive threats restrict access to agricultural land, infrastructure, and services. This is most pronounced in the Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions, where part of the land remains unsuitable for cultivation.
Three-Year Response Plan
The FAO’s emergency response and early recovery plan for 2026-2028 is designed for 239,844 rural families and small farms affected by the war. The total funding requirement is $193 million. The program combines urgent agricultural assistance with early recovery measures to support food production and rural incomes. Since the start of the war in 2022, FAO has assisted nearly 17,000 farmers and 300,000 rural families, providing seeds, funds, vouchers, livestock support, and temporary storage solutions.
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Seeds, Poultry, and Financial Assistance to Households
During January-May 2026, 4,500 rural families received 180 tons of seed potatoes for food production in their households, and the distribution of vegetable seeds continues. 1,900 families received support for poultry farming, with 57,000 day-old chicks and cash transfers and vouchers to cover costs during the first period of growth. FAO provided $1,943,332 in cash and voucher assistance to 4,660 families – the funds were intended for agricultural resources, demining, materials for animal shelters, feed, and firewood. This support enabled families to maintain production, protect livestock, and return to work on demined plots.
Vouchers, Warehouses, and Grants for Farmers
Farm households in affected areas received targeted support to continue production. Vouchers for seeds and fertilizers were provided to 551 farmers: 350 were supported within the framework of demining, and 201 – for sowing campaigns. The total value of this voucher assistance was $1.65 million. FAO handed over 24 modular grain warehouses to wheat producers, with 76 more units to be delivered soon, giving households a safer way to store crops and reduce post-harvest losses. Grant support totaling $488,700 was received by 32 farmers and agribusinesses, including three wine producers in the south with the first grant payments, 24 farmers in the west with second payments, and five agribusiness aggregators who also received a second tranche.
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Equipment for Monitoring, Forestry, and Fish Stocks
The technical part of the assistance covered state institutions. Regional bodies in the field of food safety and consumer protection in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia regions received seven sets of phytosanitary monitoring equipment, which strengthens plant health inspections, pest control, and sampling. Six Garmin GPS 67 navigation devices will facilitate fieldwork. The Ukrainian State Association of Forestry received six sets of laptops and monitors, four plotters, a scanner, a Renault Duster car, and specialized forestry equipment, including laser and ultrasonic height meters and relascope for inventory, mapping, and field surveys of forests. The State Scientific Institution “Institute of Fishery, Marine Ecology, and Oceanography” received a portable SIMRAD EK80 echosounder for hydroacoustic research, fish stock assessment, and water environment monitoring.
Partnership and Funding Sources
FAO coordinates its work with the Government of Ukraine, in particular with the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture, local administrations, UN agencies, and civil society organizations. Together with the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Office for Project Services, and demining structures, the organization restores safe access for small farmers and rural families to their land. The partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is aimed at finding durable solutions for internally displaced persons in the front-line regions. The program is funded by dozens of countries and funds, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, the Flemish government, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, Luxembourg, the Louis Dreyfus Foundation, the Minderoo Foundation, Norway, Poland, the Qatar Development Fund, Turkey, the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine, the Ukraine Community Recovery Fund, and the city of Ulsan in the Republic of Korea.
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