The only possibility for a small farmer to survive is credit

"Rozdobudko M.I." is a family farm. Since 2000, the father started working on the land, later his son joined him, and now his grandson. Together, they cultivate about 220 hectares of land. The father only occasionally advises the young owners. They have no employees, an accountant works under a contract, sometimes a lawyer is involved. Agronomy advice is usually obtained from the supply companies from which fertilizers, crop protection products and seed material are purchased.

The family grows corn, wheat, and sunflower. "Our corn is doing the best today. We built a storage hangar for her, bought a dryer, which we converted from diesel to solid fuel and liquefied gas to make it more energy efficient. And we are increasing corn crops, choosing it as the main direction of our activity," explains Valentyn Mykolayovych.

Of course, currently the price of grain leaves much to be desired, so the owner is keeping part of the harvest if possible, waiting for a better price offer. And in such a situation, the only opportunity for a farmer to earn money is lending. "If I now buy seeds and crop protection products at full cost, I will have to sell all the products I have. But the price doesn't suit me, that's why we negotiate, get a loan. And then we have the opportunity to wait for a more acceptable price, sell and pay off loans," says the farmer.

In 2024, "Rozdobudko M.I." received a commodity loan under the project "Farmer, Loan for you" from the company "Agro Arena", which is implemented with the support of the USAID’s Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities Activity (AGRO). Within it, micro, small and medium producers receive commodity credit on favorable terms. The farm borrows everything necessary for sowing: sunflower and corn seed, mineral fertilizers and crop protection products.

Valentyn Mykolayovych says that this form of cooperation is beneficial for farms also because it is possible to get not only credit, but also expert advice. "It is very convenient that I can call them and get a consultation on any agronomic issue. This is extremely important for a small farmer," Valentyn Mykolayovych notes.

The farmer says that while the war is going on, the main thing is to hold on and then grow. He has many plans for the future, because he definitely believes in victory: "We have a desire to create a system economy that will ensure both cultivation, processing, and sale of products," he emphasizes.

To become a participant in the commodity lending project "Farmer, loan for you", submit an application on the website or call the hotline number 0-800-307-001. All details are on the website: www:agro-arena.com.ua.