DAR online hub opens registration for agricultural producers – ministry

KYIV. Aug 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – On August 12, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine launched registration for farmers in the Public Agrarian Register (DAR) online platform, which will soon include the first programs to help small farmers who grow crops or cows.

As reported on the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on Friday, DAR (dar.gov.ua) is a single digital hub for agricultural producers in Ukraine, which works similarly to the registers of agricultural producers in the EU member states.

Agricultural producers registered in the DAR will be able to apply for public subsidies, targeted, subsidized loan programs, as well as loans and technical assistance from the EU and other international donors.

"The Ministry of Agrarian Policy, with the assistance of the EU, is launching the Public Agrarian Register. Soon, the first support programs will appear in the DAR thanks to EU financial assistance. We call on all international partners to join the platform to support agricultural producers in Ukraine in a fast, transparent and safe way," Minister Mykola Solsky, whose words are given in the report, said.

At the same time, Head of Operations Section of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Frederik Coene said that the launch of the DAR meets the EU directives on state support programs for agriculture and will be an important step towards preparing Ukraine for EU membership.

"In addition to such obvious advantages as convenience, transparency, speed and accountability in the field of administering support for agricultural producers, the DAR also provides a powerful analytical tool for analyzing the actual state of agricultural production and the status of its producers. It is very important that other development partners of Ukraine help the government to strengthen DAR, using it in the future to provide assistance in the agricultural sector," Coene was quoted by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

Denys Bashlyk, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization, said that platform users will be able to track data on their activities, land plots, animals and other assets in their personal electronic account.

"By spending just a few minutes registering with the DAR, farmers will be able to access information about available state support programs in real time and apply for them online from home or office… For registration, a farmer only needs an electronic signature," the Deputy Minister said.

Producers of agricultural products can register with the DAR, regardless of size, legal form or areas of business. After registration, all key information about the producer is automatically pulled into the online platform and can be verified by the agricultural producer.

To apply for participation in the support program, an agricultural producer that meets the requirements of the program shall fill out an online form, if necessary, add scanned copies of documents and sign the application with their qualified electronic signature. The processing of the submitted application can be tracked in the personal electronic account.