$150,000 WFCU Grant Helps 464 Ukrainian Farmers Acquire Needed Agricultural Equipment

KYIV, Ukraine—A $150,000 grant program funded by Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions' (WFCU) Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund and facilitated by the USAID/World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project in early January helped 464 Ukrainian credit union member farmers finance the purchase of new agricultural equipment.

The two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war in the country approaches with Ukrainian farmers having faced various challenges, including a lack of fuel, blocked exports and rising inflation. Those obstacles make farming more burdensome and less profitable, especially for small agricultural producers.

The $150,000 grant allowed credit unions to support small- and medium-sized farmers, a key membership base, by co-financing the purchase of agricultural equipment and tools to ensure they can continue producing crops and feeding their communities.

As a result, 464 agricultural producers purchased over 1,000 thousand tools, including a mini tractor, hay baler, cultivator and sowing machine.

“I would like to sincerely thank Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions and the CAP Project for understanding the hard work of rural people and providing me with financial assistance to purchase the equipment I need to prepare wood for heating a greenhouse, where I grow vegetables,” said Volodymyr Metla, a farmer from Chernihiv Oblast and member of Credit Union “Koriukivska”.

Since February 2022, WFCU has raised over $1.8 million through its Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund, implemented seven relief programs and launched three early recovery programs totaling nearly $1.5 million that have focused on providing assistance to Ukrainian credit unions and their members in wartime. For more information, please see the WFCU Relief Results report.

To donate to the Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund, click here.

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 300+ programas de asistencia técnica en 90 países. A nivel mundial, 74,634 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 104 países atienden a 411 million de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.