For farmers, access to resources determines their ability to complete seasonal work on time, maintain production and plan for growth. During the war, these decisions must be made amid security threats, damaged infrastructure and disrupted market connections. These challenges are particularly acute for small farms and women who are taking on greater responsibility for agricultural businesses and household incomes.
Addressing these needs brings together Empower AgriWomen, implemented by Swisscontact, and the Ukraine Agriculture Capital Markets Development (UACMD) Project, implemented by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. Both initiatives receive financial support from Switzerland. Empower AgriWomen is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), while the IFC project is implemented in partnership with Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The partnership combines complementary expertise. IFC UACMD Project works to to improve access to finance for agricultural SMEs in Ukraine by developing innovative financial instruments, helping market participants use them, and creating the conditions for their wider use. Empower AgriWomen works with producers and local partners to improve access to skills, business services, finance and markets. Together, these efforts bridge the gap between financial innovation and farmers’ real needs, turning new financial solutions into practical opportunities for agricultural businesses to access finance and grow.
One such solution is the Agrarian Note, a digital security that enables agricultural producers to access financing under clearly defined terms. It was developed through close collaboration between IFC, the government and the key market participants, including creditors ang agriproducers, with support from the Swiss Confederation. Its wider adoption depends on clear procedures, practical knowledge and the experience gained by early users.
In Chernihiv Region, Naporivske Farm became one of these early users. Specialising in dairy farming and seed potato production, it was the first agricultural business in the region to use an Agrarian Note, facilitated by Empower AgriWomen in cooperation with the IFC project. This outcome illustrates the practical value of the partnership: a new financial instrument was applied by an operating agricultural business, giving the region a local example of how it can be used.
The farm is interested in sharing this experience with other agricultural producers. As a demonstration farm and a partner of Empower AgriWomen, Naporivske can combine the exchange of production practices with insights into using financial instruments. Other producers can learn how a fellow farmer applied the solution, ask practical questions and assess whether it could meet the needs of their own businesses.
This example illustrates the potential of a systemic approach: one farm’s experience can support learning across the sector, while an established local business becomes a source of knowledge for other producers. Empower AgriWomen supports this approach by strengthening partners’ capacity to provide services that farmers need. The aim is to keep practical expertise and opportunities for business development accessible beyond the period of direct project support.
The potential of Agrarian Notes to expand access to agricultural finance was also discussed at the IFC project’s Advisory Board meeting, attended by the Empower AgriWomen team. Participants reviewed the Project’s results and priorities for its next phase. During the meeting a financial Agrarian Note was issued in real time during the meeting, demonstrating how quickly and easily a farmer and a creditor can complete a transaction. The entire process was conducted digitally, highlighting a key advantage of the instrument, particularly in Ukraine’s current challenging environment. Priorities for scaling up Agrarian Notes include engaging more creditors, testing new business models and building a sustainable ecosystem by integrating Agrarian Notes with agricultural and fintech solutions.
The cooperation between Swisscontact and IFC demonstrates how Swiss support can work across different levels, from developing financial mechanisms to enabling their use on farms and sharing experience within rural communities. The strength of this synergy lies in bringing together instruments, expertise and local initiative around a common goal: viable agricultural businesses, more resilient rural livelihoods and the recovery of Ukraine’s agricultural sector.