In conditions when there are no exports, when there is no working capital, it is very difficult to repay credit with very high interest, as opposed to the rates that existed before."Įxporting grain and oilseed crops has been complicated by the blockade of Odessa and other Black Sea ports.ĭmytrasevych said that since the Russian invasion, Ukraine had exported 4 million tons of grain and oilseed crops, compared to a pre-war forecast of between 5 and 6 million tons. "A compromise needs to be reached to reduce the interest rate. And he said farmers faced a financial crisis, with interest on loans rising by up to 35%. Marchuk additionally cautioned that shortages of fuel could hamper the harvest. Some Ukrainian officials say that storage difficulties have led farmers to switch crops. In May, multiple sources also told CNN Russian forces were stealing farm equipment and thousands of tons of grain from Ukrainian farmers in areas they had occupied. The conflict has destroyed dozens of grain storage facilities at ports and in rural areas, with around 10 million tonnes now under Russian control while others have been destroyed in missile and artillery attacks. Maxar predicted that 2022 production of corn will be down 54% and production of sunflowers down 40%��when compared with the 2021 growing season. Separately, Maxar Technologies examined satellite imagery of agricultural areas in Ukraine and concluded that Ukrainian farmers planted 30% less spring acreage in 2022. It is less than previous years, when it reached 85 million." Dmytrasevych gave a similar forecast, saying "We hope to harvest approximately 60 million tons of grain and oilseed crops - a little over a half of what we harvested last year." Participants will also be asked to identify and write down for themselves a group they plan to connect with and an action they plan to take after the session concludes.As for the expected harvest, Vysotskyi said "there may be about 48-50 million tons of grain. The workshop will conclude by highlighting key resources and closing remarks. Each will be assigned an advocacy tool and will discuss how they would use the tool in the scenario with the guidance of a small group facilitator. Participants will again break into small groups. Facilitators will present a hypothetical scenario with opportunity for climate and health related advocacy. Facilitators will complete the didactic portion of the session by describing specific advocacy tools - letters to the editor, creating presentations for legislative meetings, and public testimony.
Step 4 is “Strengthen your advocacy skills”. Participants will have the opportunity to provide their contact information and self-identified geographic region if they would like facilitators to help with connecting them to advocacy groups after the session. Facilitators will describe organizations engaged in climate advocacy work across the country that participants can join, highlighting their advocacy successes. Following the story breakout session, facilitators will provide a brief didactic on advocacy tools and resources.