Denys Shmyhal: Agrarians will be eligible for obtaining non-refundable grants to create gardens and greenhouses within the frames of "eRobota" project

The Cabinet of Ministers has adopted programs of non-refundable grants within the framework of a new eRobota project, announced Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal. The programs imply the creation of gardens and greenhouses.

Hence, under the program of partial compensation for the cost of creating greenhouses, the grant amount is from UAH 5 to 7 million. According to the Head of Government, the CMU expects the number of grants being 3,000 per annum while the total budget of the program makes up UAH 7 billion.

“Participants in the program can be both private entrepreneurs and agricultural companies as also farms that own or lease land for at least 25 years’ period,” noted Denys Shmyhal.

The Head of Government emphasized that funds from the grant can be directed to the construction of the complex, the purchase of technical equipment to ensure operation, the purchase of seeds and fertilizers. Given that the amount of the grant under this program is much higher, the principle of co-financing is introduced. For the first thousand participants, 70% of the project cost is financed by the state, and 30% - by the entrepreneur.

“We have studied the needs and potential of our farmers and we anticipate that the program will be really successful. The creation of new greenhouse complexes for growing vegetables and fruits will help ramp up our exports and saturate the Ukrainian market with quality products,” underlined Denys Shmyhal.

Apart from that, the state will allot an overall of UAH 4 bn to support horticulture, berry growing and viticulture. According to the Prime Minister, it stipulates partial compensation for the cost of gardens. The state will provide from UAH 300,000 to 400,000 per 1 hectare of gardens area – which is about 70% of the average cost of planting.

“We now refer to the grants for planting 10,000 hectares of new gardens. Like in the program with greenhouses, grantees must have either their own land or land in use for at least 25 years. The funds will also be provided not in cash, but in a bank account for the transparent purchase of seedlings, equipment, irrigation systems, fertilizers, etc.,” noted the Head of Government.

During the Gov’t session, the members approved one more program to support creation of startups within the frames of a large non-refundable grant support project “eRobota”. In total, the state will allocate UAH 16 billion for the aforementioned three programs. Part of the funds to support the business will be disbursed by our foreign partners. In the near future, the Government will also approve programs of non-repayable grant support in the field of processing and IT.