The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Representative in Ukraine Dorte Ellehammer has assured that the WFP will continue to support refugees from Donbas conflict zone in Ukraine, the press service of Agrarian Policy Ministry of Ukraine reported.

The assistance will be also aimed at the restoration of small agricultural units and support of small-scale farmers at the household level, Ellehammer said during a meeting with Agrarian Policy and Food Minister of Ukraine Taras Kutovy on Friday.

According to her, the organization continues to develop the project for the relief and rehabilitation of Ukraine for 2017.

The project envisages the implementation of programs aimed at the protection and restoration of funds for the elderly, the disabled and those who have not had the opportunity to leave the conflict-affected areas of Donetsk and Luhansk region on the temporarily occupied territories and along the line of contact, Ellehammer said.

The WFP in Ukraine guarantees that they will continue to respond to people's needs and take into account the development of the situation in the east of Ukraine.

For his part, Kutovy said that Ukraine supports the WFP in the fight against poverty and hunger in the world through increasing their capacity for food production.

"Ukraine has significant agricultural resources, which can help in tackling global challenges such as the fight against hunger and poverty, ensuring sustainable development of the poorest countries. The domestic agricultural sector is constantly strengthening its position on the world food markets," the agrarian policy minister said.

The ministry's press service recalled that the WFP was absent in Ukraine before 2014. Since November 2014, the WFP is the coordinator of the Food Security Cluster and is implementing the increased assistance program with a budget of $21.46 million in Ukraine. In 2015-2016, the organization has increased the budget for operations in Ukraine to $30 million.

"Since the beginning of the Emergency Operation in November 2014, WFP has assisted some 550,000 people in need: 370,000 beneficiaries through food parcels and 180,000 with cash-based transfers (cash or vouchers) where markets are still functioning well," the Agrarian Policy Ministry said.