The Grain from Ukraine campaign needs EU money

I regret there appears no end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in sight. As we consider how we can best support Ukraine in the next phase of this conflict, the European community must recognise two important facts when considering the latest phase of this two-and-a-half-year conflict. 

First, ensuring Ukraine’s survival is not an act of goodwill or charity. It is not an optional or a luxury policy, as some have suggested, it is a necessity. Russian success is an existential threat to our continent and the conflict a test of our foundational values. Preserving Ukrainian democracy is in our own interests. And if they are allowed to succeed, Ukraine will make a positive contribution to our community of free nations.

Secondly, repelling and defeating Russia will be a hollow victory if economic and social devastation is allowed to take hold. Air sirens and conscription may be part of their daily lives, but the Ukrainian people are showing remarkable resilience to make the best of a terrible situation they have been forced into. They remind us that Ukraine is more than just a battlefield and this conflict is about more than just supplying military means. We should share their determination to ensure there remains a society and an economy worth fighting for.

For both these reasons, I signed up to be a goodwill ambassador to president Volodomyr Zelensky’s Grain from Ukraine campaign, a bold initiative founded on economic development, agricultural recovery, and global food security. 

The war in Ukraine has revealed the vulnerabilities in both global security and international supply chains.

'Breadbasket of Europe'

Ukraine, historically known as the ‘breadbasket of Europe’, plays a pivotal role in feeding the world. However, this capability has been severely reduced by Russia’s illegal invasion and its role in pulling out of the Black Sea agreement which has sent an estimated 70 million to the brink of starvation.

Getting grain production going again and ensuring it gets to those in need is an emergency.

So far, a range of donor nations have helped support Grain from Ukraine, buying produce from small- and medium-sized farms which are then sent to developing countries in Africa.

This initiative is a lifeline for many vulnerable communities suffering from acute food insecurity. The initiative itself has been a success – more than 230,000 tonnes of grain has so far been sent to 11 countries.

Earlier this summer, grain was delivered from one war zone, in Ukraine, to another, in Gaza.

It hasn’t only benefitted the recipient countries however, it’s given Ukrainian farmers who have been struggling to sell their produce their own lifeline, allowing them to continue farming their land and support their families.  

For the European Union, an institution which prides itself on its leadership in global development and humanitarian assistance, there is an opportunity to be proactive and create a comprehensive programme which supports the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine while also alleviating global food security.

Double the purchasing power

Rather than rely on piecemeal donations of individual countries to the Grain from Ukraine Initiative, the EU could mobilise its financial capacities in development and humanitarian partnerships to drive up Ukraine’s agriculture production and delivery to the global food market. 

To do this, the EU commissioners for Crisis Management, International Partnerships, Neighbourhood and Enlargement and for Agriculture should ask the European Commission to pull together existing EU funds to donate at least €200m this year to the Grain from Ukraine Initiative and matching the total of all other pledges by individual countries so far. This would double the purchasing power to buy Ukraine’s grain and see many more countries dire need of food supply supported. 

By doing so, not only this year but in the long term, the EU would become the most important global player in Ukraine's agriculture recovery, investing in its modernisation and productivity increase, education, further alignment with EU agriculture standards and providing access to the global food market. 

Such an approach would not only aid Ukraine’s economic recovery but also lay the groundwork for its integration into the EU. Furthermore, this action would help mitigate existing controversies around consequences for the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy of Ukraine’s current agriculture export to the EU.

In a world facing increasing geopolitical and environmental challenges, the EU's proactive stance on Ukraine’s agricultural recovery could serve as a model for how to address complex crises with vision and resolve.

If the European Union seizes the moment and gets this right, Ukraine’s agricultural sector would be a beacon for global cooperation and resistance to Russian aggression.