State Treasury Service hindering provision of funds to State Farmers Support Fund of Ukraine

KYIV. Dec 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The State Farmers Support Fund of Ukraine cannot receive funds from the State Treasury Service for its programs to finance farmers.

"Today there is a story about the alleged 'hacker's attack' at the State Treasury Service. We have signed all papers we can. I have large doubts that the money will be paid before New Year," Director General of State Farmers Support Fund of Ukraine Ivan Slobodianyk said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

He said that this year the fund used as transparent as possible system for distributing budget funds among farmers using online broadcasting of the commission's meeting to select the companies that would receive the assistance.

UAH 15 million was provided from the national budget for the operation of the fund. A total of 68 farms were selected to receive this assistance.

"We preferred production of berries, niche food, cattle breeding and cooperatives for provision of funds," he said.

He said that "we demanded to change the approach to support farms and wanted to increase this support. The new farmers support system is nowhere near ready for next year."

He believes that today the minister remains politically motivated and dependable on the distribution of political forces in het Verkhovna Rada.

Slobodianyk said that he wrote an application to resign from the post of the director of the fund.

"I have decided to resign from the post I am running now and join the team of new forces of Mikheil Saakashvili. Now it has been decided to create an agrarian platform on the basis of this political force," he said.

The task of the agrarian platform is the presentation of the clear vision of Ukraine's agrarian future in developing rural areas, creating a team that would be ready to realize it. The main goal of the new political force is reloading of parliament.