In Ukraine, one American-owned company is gathering food producers to help deliver needed goods to those impacted by the ongoing war.
Latifundist Media has partnered with us to provide boots-on-the-ground coverage:
“These are ready-made products. Packaged peas. We have a full production cycle.”
We are at the Ridne plant in Cherkasy region. It produces and packs pasta and peas for humanitarian food kits that are delivered to the war-affected regions of Ukraine.
Oleksandr worked at this plant back in the 90s and is very happy to see the production still running. He says that soon a mill will start working here. He also has a dream.
“I wish we had a bakery. It would be great to bake bread. That’s all we need to complete the production cycle.”
The plant is owned by the American company IVA ROVE Inc., better known as a producer of nitrogen inhibitors and stabilizers. But at the beginning of the war, the company found a new important mission for itself. The company has created a consortium that brings together food producers to deliver goods to people in war-torn regions. The consortium produces the food kits in cooperation with international humanitarian organizations, such as the GEM Foundation and the Warren Buffett Foundation.
GEM and the Warren Buffett Foundation share the commitment to engage Ukrainian producers and boost the Ukrainian economy. Here, our cooperation has a positive impact on grain growers, on Ukrainian logistics, on grain processors, on the local communities where we hire people to work, on taxes, which means that money stays in the country. We go to the Zhmenka factory, a well-known cereal producer in Ukraine.
The founder tells us that the production has been badly affected by the war. There is a 30% drop in sales for almost all manufacturers working with retailers. That is minus 10 million people who left the country. Of these, 7 million are women with children, our main consumers who used to buy our products. But being a part of the consortium kept the plant afloat in turbulent times. Now, this 30% drop is being compensated for by deliveries of food for humanitarian needs.
That report was powered by Latifundist Media, with USAID support provided through Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities (AGRO) Activity implemented in Ukraine by Chemonics International. For more information, visit their website or follow them on social media.
