USAID Administrator Samantha Power condemned Russia's decision to suspend participation in the grain initiative and announced the allocation of $250 million to support Ukraine's agriculture, which has suffered as a result of a full-scale Russian invasion, USAID reported.

"The United States, through its Agriculture Resilience Initiative-Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), is providing an additional $250 million to support Ukraine's agriculture sector that has been battered by Russia's aggression. This brings the U.S. government's total investment in the AGRI-Ukraine initiative to $350 million. USAID is seeking an additional $250 million in leveraged support from the private sector, other donors, and foundations," the USAID press service quoted Power's speech during a visit to the port of Odesa on Tuesday.

Additional funds will be used to expand critical agricultural infrastructure, such as irrigation systems, grain elevators, transshipment facilities, and port and border infrastructure.

In addition, USAID will expand support for small and medium-sized agricultural businesses so they have access to funding and resources to plan planting and harvesting in 2023.

The agency noted that the Russian full-scale invasion caused more than $6.6 billion in direct damage to Ukraine's agricultural sector.

AGRI-Ukraine will continue to help Ukrainian farmers to produce, store and export agricultural products and grain to the world, USAID assured.

The AGRI-Ukraine initiative was launched in July 2022, it supports more than 30% of registered farmers in Ukraine. So, the United States provides seeds, fertilizers, agricultural and financial services, and storage.

Thanks to USAID support, farmers were able to store more than 843,000 tonnes of grain, and more than 600 farmers received almost $49.8 million.

International companies such as Bayer, Grain Alliance, Kernel and Nibulon are investing in programs to support the agricultural sector in Ukraine. AGRI-Ukraine has also been joined by the World Bank, which finances reforms in this sector.