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UN PhotoFAO / UKRAINE RURAL COMMUNITIES SUPPORT
STORY: FAO / UKRAINE RURAL COMMUNITIES SUPPORT
TRT: 3:02
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / UKRAINIAN / NATS
DATELINE: 12 / 28 MAY 2025, MYKILSKE / SHYROKE, ZAPORIZKA OBLAST, UKRAINE
28 MAY 2025, MYKILSKE, ZAPORIZKA OBLAST, UKRAINE
1. Pan right, from destroyed building to bomb crater
2. Pan left, destroyed equipment
3. Wide shot, Paulsen and delegation walking through rubble
4. Paulsen and Olena talking in front of a destroyed house
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director, Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:
“This work that we're seeing supporting frontline families in Zaporizhzhia oblast is important in the same way as it is for all of the frontline areas in Ukraine. These are amongst the most vulnerable people in the country.”
6. Med shot, technician turning on the generator
7. Med shot, Paulsen and Olena talking with generator in foreground
8. Tilt up, close up of generator panel to credits note
9. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Olena Hoshkoderia, deputy director of the Mykilskyi poultry complex:
“We are very grateful to FAO and the Government of Germany for giving us the opportunity to receive a powerful generator that meets the needs of our poultry complex, where we raise our broilers (chicken breed), as well as our compound feed unit, which produces feed for our operation.”
12 MAY 2025, SHYROKE, ZAPORIZKA OBLAST, UKRAINE
10. Wide shot, people waiting in queue
11. Med shot, FAO staff talking to four women
12. Wide shot, technician opening van’s door
13. Pan right, one day-old chicks in bins
14. Close up, one day-old chick in a bin
15. Med shot, Vuyko receiving chicks
16. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Ivan Vuyko, farmer from Shyroke, Zaporizhzhia Oblast:
“There is no work; we run our household as best we can – a few pigs, chickens, cows. We do what we can.”
17. Tracking shot, Vuyko carrying a bucket with water
18. Close up, Vuyko’s cow
19. Med shot, Vuyko bringing water to cow
28 MAY 2025, MYKILSKE, ZAPORIZKA OBLAST, UKRAINE
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director, Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:
“The funding levels are incredibly low this year. Our one strategy that we have within our response plan to support rural farming families to date this year has received no funding at all. That's just simply unacceptable. We need to keep a focus on Ukraine. We need to keep a focus on vulnerable rural farming families and this is why we need support.”
21. Tilt up, Paulsen and Olena standing in warehouse with grain in foreground
22. Wide shot, Paulsen and delegation in warehouse
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned that without urgent and sustained support, thousands of rural households may be unable to plant or harvest on time – jeopardizing national food security and rural livelihoods.
Urgent support is needed to help them safely access their fields and obtain essential production resources like seeds, fertilizers, storage and energy solutions.
Meeting the needs of Ukraine’s rural communities requires more than emergency assistance – it demands sustained, well-coordinated response to support agrifood systems. The coming months will determine whether rural producers can sustain production through the winter and into the next season.
“These are amongst the most vulnerable people in the country,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of Emergencies and Resilience at FAO, during his recent visit to Zaporizka oblast, Ukraine.
Across the country, rural households – many of them elderly- or female-headed – continue to depend on agriculture for their survival. They are growing vegetables, tending to a single cow or a handful of chickens, and cultivating small plots of land – often under shelling, without reliable electricity, and with limited access to markets and supplies. What used to be a routine part of their work is now life-threatening in some regions.
Ivan Vuyko, farmer from Shyroke, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said, “There is no work; we run our household as best we can – a few pigs, chickens, cows. We do what we can.”
According to the Fourth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, conducted by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank, the EU and the UN, Ukraine’s agriculture sector has suffered USD 83.9 billion in damages and losses, with an additional USD 1.6 billion in the irrigation sector. Rural households and small-scale farmers bear a significant share of this impact and have been forced to adapt – facing land contamination, labour shortages, rising input costs and power outages. Thousands of families still lack basic tools, inputs and services needed to sustain their production and protect their livelihoods.
During the visit, FAO’s Emergencies and Resilience Director Paulsen visited the Mykilskyi poultry complex, which cannot operate without reliable energy source. Last summer, a two-week power cut cost the some 12 000 USD in chicks and feed losses. FAO and the Government of Germany donated a generator which will prevent similar losses.
“We are very grateful to FAO and the Government of Germany for giving us a powerful generator that meets the needs of our poultry complex, where we raise our broilers (chicken breed), as well as our compound feed unit, which produces feed for our operation,” said Olena Hoshkoderia, deputy director of the Mykilskyi poultry complex.
Since 2022, FAO has already supported over 250 000 rural families with vegetable seeds, animal feed, day-old chicks, cash and vouchers. More than 15 000 farmers received crop seeds, temporary storage solutions and financial assistance. FAO has also worked with partners to survey mined lands, restore access to agricultural fields and support national systems for monitoring and recovery.
“This work that we're seeing supporting frontline families in Zaporizhzhia Oblast is important in the same way as it is for all of the frontline areas in Ukraine,” said Paulsen.
In addition to supporting vulnerable rural households, FAO also works with small-scale producers who play a vital role in feeding their communities. During the visit, FAO’s Emergencies and Resilience Director Paulsen visited the Mykilskyi poultry complex, which supplies poultry to nearby villages but cannot operate without a reliable energy source. Last summer, a two-week power cut cost them some USD 12 000 in chicks and feed losses. FAO and the Government of Germany donated a generator of 250 KVA, ensuring that the farm can continue operating and that rural families have access to food and a means to sustain their livelihoods.
“We are very grateful to FAO and the Government of Germany for giving us a powerful generator that meets the needs of our poultry complex, where we raise our broilers (chicken breed), as well as our compound feed unit, which produces feed for our operation,” said Olena Hoshkoderia, deputy director of the Mykilskyi poultry complex.
Despite the scale of assistance already delivered, much more is needed with many rural families at risk of being left behind. Without sustained support, their ability to plant, harvest and recover remains fragile.
“The funding levels are incredibly low this year,” said Paulsen. “Our one strategy that we have within our response plan to support rural farming families to date this year has received no funding at all. That's just simply unacceptable.”
With global funding constraints, FAO calls on donors and partners to redouble their support to Ukraine’s farming families, as their role in national food security, local economies and long-term recovery is indispensable.
FAO continues to provide targeted assistance and work in close coordination with national authorities and partners to ensure that Ukraine’s agri-food systems and rural livelihoods can recover, adapt and remain resilient even in the most challenging conditions. At the same time, the Organization is stepping up advocacy to ensure that the needs of rural communities remain visible and prioritized on the international agenda.
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