Belgium again contributes to Grain from Ukraine programme

Belgium will again contribute 10 million euros to the Grain from Ukraine programme. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky established the initiative to help the country continue providing grain to countries with precarious food situations.

Ukraine has been one of the world's largest exporters of agricultural products. However, the Russian war has dramatically affected the production and export of grain. Production decreased by a third in the past year and the year before, while exports completely stopped.

According to minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez of Flemish socialists Vooruit, the consequences of this can be felt far beyond Europe. “Food insecurity is the daily reality of nearly 2.4 billion people worldwide. 333 million people do not know when they will be able to eat their next meal and suffer from chronic hunger,” she said.

With its contribution to Grain from Ukraine, Belgium is helping to get Ukrainian grain to countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, where famines are now a real threat. The World Food Program is responsible for coordinating the initiative. Between the programme's launch at the end of 2022 - when Belgium also contributed 10 million euros - and June 2023, six deliveries of 170,000 tons of Ukrainian grain took place in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen.

^{© PHOTO ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP}

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