Ukrainian farmers from frontline areas often compare their fields to the surface of the Moon scarred by countless craters. But those craters in Ukrainian fields were not formed as a result of celestial collisions but during russian missile attacks and shelling. In addition to damaged land, farmers frequently lose crops and equipment. How can they secure compensation for these losses?
Researchers of the National Scientific Centre “Institute of Agrarian Economics” attempted to answer this question. With grant funding from the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU), they implemented a project entitled “Develop methodical approaches to calculating losses, assessing the impact of military aggression and compensation policy on the development of agrarian entrepreneurship”.
We asked the PI, Mykola Pugachov, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute and Academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS of Ukraine), about the findings of the project.
“In wartime, agricultural producers often face challenges that they cannot solve on their own: loss of crops, destruction of buildings, etc. Sometimes farmers are unable to access the fields because they are mined or covered with craters from shells and missiles. Therefore, the question arose: how to compensate for these losses?”, explains the PI.
During the study, researchers focused primarily on small agricultural producers, farmers who do not have sufficient funds, time, or knowledge to solve the problem. Large agricultural enterprises can hire assessment specialists or have their own legal departments. But what about small farmers and producers?
“A farmer is unlikely to go to an international court to demand compensation from the russian federation for losses,” continues the researcher. “In order to receive compensation, people need to know how to act: how to record damage or loss of property, how to interact with law enforcement agencies. A clear procedure is needed”.
In the first stage of the project implementation, the researchers studied international experience in compensating producers of various products for losses caused by military actions and identified the mechanisms used in other countries. “During wars or armed conflicts, some countries have established special funds to help compensate for losses. We examined how these funds operated and found that they are indeed an effective tool“, comments the researcher. ”Therefore, one of our recommendations is to establish organizations that will accept applications with preliminary evidence of losses from agricultural producers”.
And, of course, such evidence of losses must be reliable and convincing. How to collect it? How to fill out the application? The study also provides answers to these questions.
“Farmers’ losses include equipment, products, animals, plants, fields, destroyed vegetable storage facilities, destroyed elevators, etc. In other words, we are talking about various types of property“, explains the PI. ”But how can these losses be assessed? For example, if a vehicle is destroyed, one can calculate its cost (which may be inexpensive, but its value to the farm is critical). But how can a farmer prove that a crop in the field was burned months after the shelling? It may have raining, possibly snowing…”.
Losses can also be indirect – for example, a farmer was unable to apply fertilizer to the soil, resulting in part of the crop being lost.
Researchers have developed methodological approaches for recording and determining direct losses of agricultural products, as well as methodological recommendations for recording and determining indirect losses of agricultural enterprises from the war.
These recommendations were printed and distributed among farmers at the expense of the NRFU. They are also freely available online.
Proposals for recording losses have been forwarded to specialists working in central government and relevant public organizations. They will be useful to the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, the Agrarian Union of Ukraine, the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Corporation for Viticulture and Wine Production Industry “Ukrvinprom” and many others.
The researchers have also analyzed the potential impact of farmers’ losses on the development of farms and agricultural enterprises. This analysis has also been shared with experts in central government and non-governmental organizations.
The project team discusses the critically important issue of compensating farmers for their losses in the media, as well as during discussions and round tables. Researchers tell about the losses of entrepreneurs in the frontline areas of Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions. They learned about these losses from the farmers themselves during on-site visits to the areas most affected by the war.
“To be honest, it was not easy to talk to people who lost their property during the occupation or missile attacks”, comments Mykola Pugachov. “We realized that they needed help as soon as possible, but we could not promise such help in the near future”.
Farmers shared their stories and asked whether compensation was possible. Researchers explained that loss compensation for losses would be provided but only if they are properly documented and assessed.
The study describes the losses of more than two dozen small farms and about ten medium-sized agricultural enterprises. In particular, it describes the losses of LLC Rodina-Agro in the Vitovsky district of the Mykolaiv oblast (where grains and legumes are cultivated), PAE Kozirske in Mykolaiv oblast (which specializes in growing grapes, berries, nuts, etc.), LLC Terezyne in the Bilotserkivskyi district of Kyiv oblast (which specializes in agricultural production and processing), and many others.
This crucial research, involving risky on-site visits to frontline areas, was implemented by a courageous and professional team, including two academicians of the NAAS of Ukraine, a corresponding member of the NAAS, four Doctors of Science, and three early-career researchers. “I am grateful to Academician Valerii Zhuk who insisted that farmers need tools to record losses. I am grateful to the early-career researchers who dedicated themselves fully, dug through databases, participated in on-site visits, and expressed their ideas”, concluded the PI. “I hope that the findings of our work will help farmers receive fair compensation”.
Mykola Pugachov emphasizes that the completed project is only the first stage of systematic research on documenting and assessing losses in the agricultural sector during the war. Amendments have been made to Ukraine’s regulatory framework to simplify existing damage assessment tools and allow farmers to participate in the assessment process. This requires further research and the introduction of clear and accessible methodologies for agricultural enterprises.
The research community of the NAAS of Ukraine continues its systematic work to strengthen the methodological basis for assessing the losses of agricultural enterprises. In December 2025, the issue of the methodology for the analytical assessment of losses and their presentation in Euro-integrated reporting was considered by the Presidium of the NAAS of Ukraine (the methodology for assessing losses was presented by one of the project implementers, Academician Valerii Zhuk).
“There is a lot of work ahead”, summed up Mykola Pugachov. “We strive to create an integrated research and practical system that not only documents losses but also supports farms in rapid recovery, helps communities plan their development, and assist the state establish transparent and effective compensation mechanisms after victory over the enemy”.
Interviewed by Svitlana GALATA
