Meeting Critical Rural Household Food Production and Livelihoods Needs in Conflict-Affected Oblasts in Ukraine The war has significantly disrupted livelihoods during critical agricultural campaigns, through physical access constraints and damage to homes, productive assets, agricultural land, roads and other civilian infrastructure. Some 20–30 percent of the area sown with winter crops is likely to remain unharvested due to the conflict. The reduction in harvested areas and limited access to inputs are expected to result in a decrease in yields and cereal production by 40 percent compared to the previous year. Massive livestock losses are also expected through the winter season when animal diseases seasonally proliferate. For livestock owners, negative coping strategies are expected to exhaust their productive assets, exposing smallholders to medium and longer-term vulnerabilities. Urgent food security and livelihood support is required as humanitarian needs are expected to grow with the winter season approaches.

To help avert a food crisis, this project will focus on three critical needs areas for vulnerable rural populations identified through this analysis: In the winter season (1) meeting basic needs and (2) livestock and livelihood protection, and (3) winter preparation for the spring agricultural season. FAO’s geographic focus will be five conflict-affected oblasts: Odeska, Mykolaivska, Zaporizka, Dnipropetrovska, and Sumska and will build on complementarities with existing projects. 
This project is fully aligned with the overall allocation strategy for Envelope 1 of this allocation and the overall objective of providing targeted multi-sectoral and time-critical support. FAO’s localized approach to identifying communities with high-levels of needs through partners ensures a targeted focus to our activities.  

This project combines a multisectoral approach looking at addressing both basic needs of vulnerable, conflict-affected rural households through cash assistance to meet basic needs, as well as food security specific needs with support to protect livestock through the winter and prepare for spring seasons.

The project will support rural households whose production capacities have been eroded because of ongoing hostilities and face food insecurity if not supported urgently. FAO looks to build on partnership with Ukrainian civil society organizations (CSOs) and local hromada authorities and settlement starostas in beneficiary targeting approaches communication and support to vulnerable groups in participating in all project activities. 

Under this allocation, FAO and partners’ plan to assist a total 32 000 households (89 600 people) in safeguarding livelihoods and household food production capacities through winter and spring preparations vis-a-vi a combination of multipurpose cash direct distribution of animal feed, seeds, and seeders and vouchers for animal health supplies and winter/early spring livestock shelters and spring season preparations. The project is based on lessons learned and good practices from FAO’s 2022 activities

Through these means, the project aims to reach its overall objective of protecting the food security and rural livelihoods of conflict-affected households in Ukraine.