At the invitation of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), Andriy Dykun, Head of the SaveUA Charity Fund and the Ukrainian Agrarian Council, took part in a meeting of Ukrainian business leaders to discuss the efforts of the private sector in Ukraine aimed at protecting the state and helping citizens from the first days of the war.
The audience of the event included decision makers from the U.S. government, Congress, USAID and other donors who are committed to supporting Ukraine not only in winning the war, but also in rebuilding the country afterwards.
The purpose of the meeting was to hear from representatives of Ukrainian business how they managed not only to survive this year but also to continue working and helping the population, and how the interaction between the government and business at the national and regional levels has changed.
The participants of the event were unanimous in their opinion that the society and the business environment have zero tolerance for corruption in the state, and this is the time when Ukrainians are creating a new history of independent Ukraine, where the state works for people and respects and ensures their rights.
"We all realize that there may not be another chance to change the country. The war is a window of opportunity for reforms. We should not wait for it to end, we must implement reforms right now. It is worth saying that much more has been done this year than in the last 5 years in terms of business and government cooperation. We are becoming a team based on trust. I can say this on the example of the work of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council: from the first days of the war, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine recommended our association for cooperation with international donors, because they trust us and donors trust them. And this is a very effective cooperation, as we address strategic issues for the agricultural sector together. Together and with the support of the Ministry, we negotiate to resolve the issue of extending Ukraine's preferential trade regime with the EU, the blockade of grain exports across the Ukrainian-Polish border, we raise issues at the national level in the European Parliament, as a single team, and it works. There was no such cooperation before," said Andriy Dykun.
When asked how they survived this year and what the 12 months of war were like, the head of the Fund said that at the beginning of the Russian invasion, farmers realized that they had to go out into the fields and provide food to the population, because without food, the cities would not survive.
"If the cities were surrounded, there would be no way to bring in food, no food, and therefore no strength to fight. That is why farmers united and brought trucks of grain to Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and other cities of Ukraine, accompanied by armored personnel carriers, so that people could have food," said Dykun.
He also noted that at the beginning of the war, the association's agrarians founded the SaveUA charity fund to provide humanitarian aid.
"With the support of international donors, the Foundation's team helps to provide food packages to Ukrainians affected by the war, provides hospitals in the de-occupied territories with the necessary medicines and equipment, helps farmers with the supply of seeds, generators, animal medicines, grain storage sleeves, Starlink terminals, etc. to support farm operations," said Andriy Dykun.
Answering the question of how and what international partners can help us, the head of the Foundation and the Ukrainian Agrarian Council named the priority tasks that need to be addressed now.
"To restore the full-fledged operation of the agricultural sector, we need funding, machinery, equipment and specialists in de-mining so that farmers can go out into the fields without risking their lives. Ukraine is currently the largest mined area in the world. We need political support for the further continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and help in resolving the issue on the Ukrainian-Polish border due to the import of agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU market. Something that is not directly related to agribusiness, but will help bring victory closer, we need help in providing pickup trucks for the needs of the Armed Forces. European stocks of these vehicles are exhausted, and their importance for our defenders at the front is high," said Andriy Dykun.
The full interview in English is available here: https://bit.ly/3yRb21j
