Deep within the war-torn rural landscapes of Ukraine, farmers are receiving new aid through a program founded by the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions.
The philanthropic and fundraising arm of the Madison, Wisconsin-based World Council of Credit Unions has assisted 100 farmers since the Ukraine Agricultural Loan Reimbursement Program launched in June, with an initial disbursement of $100,000. It plans to offer aid to at least 585 farmers by covering 10% of their agricultural loan principal payments.
The Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund, which the WFCU founded on Feb. 27 — three days after the war with Russia broke out — provided grants for the first disbursements. The fund raised more than $300,000 in its first few weeks and by mid-March was able to
The WFCU leveraged an account with the Ukrainian nongovernmental organization Ridnia, as well as WOCCU's existing
Members eligible for aid with loan repayments must have borrowed from an institution that is both a current partner of CAP and not operating in an active conflict zone.
"We're doing our part and credit unions are doing their part to provide a level of support to agricultural producers that allows them to continue to maximize the harvest, and to maximize this window of time to grow and to harvest as much of their crops as possible, even in the face of war," Reuter said. "That's the core collaborative DNA of WOCCU and its WFCU in collaborating with credit unions themselves."
The reimbursement program is the latest credit union-focused initiative for Ukrainian relief founded this year, adding to the progress made by the
At Persha Podilska Fermerska Credit Union in the western Ukrainian city of Kamianets-Podilskyi, which has UAH$11 million (USD$300,000) of assets, the credit union's longtime focus on agriculture has fueled its partnership with CAP since 2017 and shaped the makeup of its lending activity.
"Agricultural lending is 30% of our loan portfolio," said Natalya Gishchuk, manager and acting chief executive of Persha Podilska Fermerska. "To be honest, the share is much bigger because a lot of people living in the countryside and villages and very small towns" don't officially list themselves as agricultural producers despite their activities being almost the same, Gishchuk said.
Farmers face a range of challenges — from rising costs of fertilizer and fuel to the disruption of shipping routes and bombings of crop fields — that other members never deal with, Gishchuk said.
"Other professionals can work remotely, especially after the COVID-19 times when we are all used to it already, but the agricultural producers cannot take their land [as] baggage, so their land is their way of life," Gishchuk said.
Under the aid program, PPFKS members such as poultry breeder Borys Sohatiuk, who are continually adapting to fuel scarcity and shifting trade routes, can put the freed-up capital toward functioning amid an ongoing war.
"When credit union employees offered to fill in an application for [partial loan] reimbursement, I was skeptical at first … but when I received a message that the funds had arrived, I was very happy," Sohatiuk said. "In a fairly short period of cooperation, the credit union has proven itself as a reliable financial partner."
Quotes from Borys Sohatiuk and Natalya Gishchuk were translated from Ukrainian.
