Italy Allocates €9 Million to Support Agriculture in Odesa Region

Italy has launched the “Pro.UKR” project, a €9 million initiative aimed at strengthening sustainable agricultural development and food security in rural areas of the Odesa region.

According to the Italian Embassy in Ukraine, the agreement on the project’s implementation was signed with the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies in Bari.

The signing took place in the presence of Italian Ambassador Carlo Formosa and Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Vitalii Koval.

The initiative is designed to enhance the capacity of agricultural producers in the region and will be fully implemented in Odesa, a city for which Italy has assumed a patronage role in its reconstruction efforts.

The program will provide agricultural and livestock production tools, introduce advanced technologies, and implement sustainable irrigation systems, the embassy stated.

Earlier, Italy allocated €13 million to Ukraine’s Energy Support Fund to aid in restoring energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks. According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this contribution, directed by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, is one of the largest from a single country and aims to stabilize electricity supplies for millions of Ukrainians.

The fund, established in 2022 by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy and the European Commission, finances equipment procurement for energy recovery, with oversight from the European Energy Community.