The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is stepping up its investments into the Ukrainian agribusiness sector, which received over €160 million from the Bank in 2013 alone.
The Bank is extending a €35 million loan to a major Ukrainian pig farming company Danosha, well established in Ukraine since 2004. The proceeds will be used to expand Danosha’s operations, improve its waste disposal and restructure its balance sheet.
With the help of the EBRD support, the company will improve its biological security and animal welfare standards in line with EU regulations. The loan will also support the construction of two biogas plants at the existing farms in Ivano-Frankivsk region (western Ukraine), which, once completed, will jointly generate over 15,000MWh electricity and heat per year. It is also expected that the biogas plants will help significantly reduce GHG emissions at the sites.
In the context of the project and its activity in the sector, the EBRD jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has commissioned two specialised studies, which will look at the state of the pig sector as well as the animal welfare in the region.
The EBRD is the largest financial investor in Ukraine. As of 1 January 2014 the Bank had committed €8.7 billion (US$ 11.9 billion) through 321 projects in Ukraine.
