The Government of Ukraine and the World Bank have signed new strategic agreements aimed at strengthening food security and the resilience of agricultural production in times of war. The signed agreements provide for additional financing of $50 million under the large-scale ARISE project, as well as a joint initiative to modernize irrigation systems.

This was reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. The ARISE project has already become a key instrument of state support for the agricultural sector. Its total cost reaches $700 million, and it covers up to 90 thousand small and medium-sized farms. The new tranche will allow to expand the existing support - both through the “5-7-9%” preferential loan program and through the grant system for the development of horticulture and greenhouse farms.

Since the beginning of 2025, Ukrainian farmers have already received almost 29.2 billion hryvnias in credit funds, and 38 farms have used grant assistance in the amount of over 165 million hryvnias. All applications for participation in the programs are submitted through the electronic platform — the State Agrarian Register (DAR), which is already used by more than 200 thousand farmers. This guarantees transparency in the distribution of state aid.

A separate area of cooperation between the government and the World Bank has been the issue of restoring and developing irrigation infrastructure. The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station as a result of Russian aggression has jeopardized the water supply of significant areas of arable land in the south of the country. The new agreements provide for the development of a national plan for the creation of modern irrigation systems in accordance with European standards.

To finance these measures, it is planned to create a separate fund that will allow the implementation of large-scale irrigation projects. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, access to water can increase crop yields by 2–3 times, which is critically important in the context of climate change and droughts.

Ukraine already plays a strategic role in global food security: one hectare of Ukrainian black soil provides food for an average of 18 people, and all of the country's agricultural production helps feed about 400 million people in the world every year. New investments are designed not only to stabilize the situation in the agricultural sector, but also to make it even more powerful and resilient to challenges.