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Ukraine Land Feeds Africa

Grain from Ukraine land is making headlines proving that not only is Ukraine land an excellent addition to your property portfolio, investment in cheap land in Ukraine also offers the chance to make a major contribution to the chronic famine in parts of Africa. Ukraine has just donated 1,000 tonnes of wheat to Ethiopia.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) recently reported that it has received the first ever grain donation from the Ukrainian government. The massive wheat shipment from Ukraine is valued at US$580,000 and will form part of the emergency relief food aid for almost 5 million people.

The WFP Ethiopia Country Director, Mohamed Diab, called the donation from Ukraine "very timely". Many developed nations have cut back on donations to food aid and as a result, the WFP is currently facing a severe shortage of resources. Mr Diab also expressed his belief that this is "the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership with the Ukrainian people".

Ukraine and the WFP have been commercial partners for several years with the Ukraine supplying large amounts of grain - 140,000 tonnes in 2008 alone - to the UN food relief programmes. However, the recent 1,000 tonne contribution is Ukraine's first donation. The WFP also contracts air transport services from Ukraine.
Grain donations are vital to the WFP whose food aid programmes are currently working hard to alleviate starvation among millions in Africa affected by the triple hardships of drought, high food prices and the recession.

Ukraine is an appropriate grain donor. Known as the ‘bread basket' of Europe, Ukraine land is made up of some of the richest soil in the world. This highly fertile soil was responsible for producing a record harvest of 48.6 million tonnes of grain during the last marketing year (July 2008 to June 2009) of which Ukraine exported over half. However, Ukrainian grain yields are currently below their potential. According to FAO calculations, better farm management and technology means that grain yields from Ukraine land should increase considerably over the next five years.

As well as excellent soil and a plentiful supply of cheap land, Ukraine is also earmarked by the World Bank as one of the few countries in the world where "both an expansion of arable land-use and considerable intensification could take place without serious environmental consequences". Along with Russia and Kazakhstan, the World Bank claims Ukraine "could have a crucial impact on the world food situation". The latest grain donation from Ukraine land to Ethiopia would seem to prove the World Bank right.

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