‘Aid’ from the West will bring to Ukrainian agriculture new hybrid seeds, possibly GMOs, and pesticides from Corteva – the Corporation created through merger of Dow, DuPont and Pioneer – via USAID(U.S. Agency for International Development) through AGRI-Ukraine(Agriculture Resilience Initiative – Ukraine).
However, the agreement between the U.S. agency, the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture of the Zelenski government, and various lo economic stakeholders-German Bayer, Ukrainian Grain Alliance, Kernel, Nibulon, and the World Bank-appears to be unrealistic, compared to its stated objectives, in several respects. Some data and brief notes to follow.
1) USAID – Corteva, state aid disguised as aid to Ukraine.
USAID, in its press release 5.6.23, states that it has allocated US$ 100 million to launch the new program dedicated to Ukrainian agriculture. And it is confident of raising another US$ 150 million, thanks also to contributions from other donors, in the private sector and foundations, with a total investment target of US$ 250 million. (1)
Corteva Agroscience-one of the four global pesticide and seed monopolists(Big 4)-announced in April 2022 that it would stop production and withdraw from the Russian market, which was worth about 2 percent of its global sales. (2) The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has in turn announced the removal of Corteva products from the national seed register. (3)
The partnership between USAID and Corteva Agroscience (Illinois, USA) thus has a first function, behind the banner of Ukrainian agriculture, which in WTO jargon is known as ‘state aid.’ And it is in addition to the mighty subsidy system introduced in 2022 to attract investment to the United States of America(Inflation Reduction Act, IRA). (4) In the grave silence, ça va sans dire, of the ever succubus European politicians.
2) Ukrainian agriculture, new GMOs and pesticides on the way.
The goal shared by Corteva and USAID-‘to increase farmers’ access to inputs, financing and post-harvest storage‘-is to bring in Ukraine:
- ‘evolved germplasm‘. Read new GMOs, neither identified nor tracked nor labeled as such, according to the US approach,
- ‘hybrid seeds,’ which farmers cannot save for new crops,
- ‘crop protection products,’ that is, chemical pesticides, to
- ‘support the global agricultural market‘ which in turn is 70-90% dominated by the four corporations Archer-Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill, Dreyfus (ABCD). (6)
3) ‘Black Sea grain initiative’, renewal uncertain
‘Black Sea grain initiative’ -the agreement concluded on 22.7.22 in Turkey, between Russia and Ukraine, aimed at ensuring the continuity of transportation of food commodities (e.g., wheat, corn, sunflower, barley) via a Black Sea safety corridor-ends on 17.7.23.
However, Russia is considering withdrawing from this agreement because the West has not met its reciprocity commitments by keeping in place sanctions on Russian-sourced food and fertilizer. (7)
4) Damaged crops?
Agricultural production once accounted for 20 percent of Ukraine’s GDP(gross domestic product) and 40 percent of its total exports. The war has caused an estimated 30-40% drop in production, and access to critical production inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, fuel and energy is the first problem to be solved, according to USAID.
The Ukrainian Academy of Agricultural Sciences revealed last week that the country could lose 20 percent of its winter grain harvest if the dry, hot weather persists. This will reduce Ukrainian grain production to 44.5 million tons, further down from the Ukrainian Grain Association’s early 2023 forecast (50 mln t).
5) Depleted uranium
The Biden administration, after the UK government, decided to send Ukrainedepleted-uranium (DU) munitions, a by-product of its enrichment for energy and military purposes. (8) An apparently advantageous choice for ‘donors,’ who can thus dispose of toxic heavy metals with an average radioactivity index of 60 percent of natural uranium in distant territories.
However, the toxicity of depleted uranium to the health of ‘aid recipients,’ the environment and agriculture (soils, water) does not seem to have been considered. (8) Nor has it considered the persistence in the environment of uranium, which takes about 4.5 billion years to decompose just half the amount of the isotope U-238 (which makes up 99.2 percent). (9)
6) Mines and cluster bombs
Agricultural soils will also have to be cleared of unexploded mines and munitions, as well ascluster bombs, the use of which has already been reported by both sides in the conflict. The Zelenski government is now lobbying the U.S. Congress to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. (10) With the support of the commander of NATO forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, who told Congress that such weapons could be ‘very effective’ against Russian troops.
Neither the United States, nor Russia, nor Ukraine have, after all, joined the
Convention on Cluster Munitions
(2008), to which 123 countries around the world have so far adhered, to ban the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions.
Human rights activists have warned of the risks of unexploded cluster bombs causing civilian casualties long after the conflict has ended. But war delusion knows no reason.
7) Interim Conclusions
Ukrainian agriculture is now presented as the crucial resource to be protected, to ensure food security at the planetary level. USAID-Corteva state aid may bring in hybrid seeds (probably GMOs) and pesticides, but military ‘aid’-which in 2022 alone was worth more than a hundred times as much (US$ 16 billion)-continues to aggravate the condition of the land with war residues, heavy metals and radioactivity.
Black Rock-the U.S. giga-investor with US$ 8.6 trillion in assets (almost double Germany’s GDP)-in turn has already entered into an agreement, with the Ukrainian government, with a view to privatizing what will be left of the entire country (11.12). A sign of hope for a new peace, perhaps, a year after Ukraine withdrew from the Istanbul Agreement. (13) The male working-age population, meanwhile, continues to be targeted for ‘cannon fodder.’ (14)
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) USAID. USAID and Corteva Agriscience Combine Efforts to Support Ukrainian Farmers. https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-05-2023-usaid-and-corteva-agriscience-combine-efforts-support-ukrainian-farmers Press release. 5.6.23
(2) Corteva, Inc. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial conditions and results of operations. https://tinyurl.com/mrxsbwry Market screener. 9.2.23
(3) Corteva seeds to be excluded from Russian registry. Interfax. https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/88737/ 16.3.23
(4) Christian Scheinert. EU’s response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Think-tank, European Parliament. https://tinyurl.com/mr239sde 2.6.23
(5) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. USA, 45 thousand new GMOs a year out of control. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 8.7.19
(6) Marta Strinati. Rising prices and food crisis in wartime. Background in iPES FOOD report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.5.22
(7) Russian ‘goodwill’ on Black Sea grain deal is ‘not endless’ – Kremlin. https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-kremlin-grain-idAFL8N3863ER Reuters. 14.6.22
(8) David Swanson. New Study Documents Depleted Uranium Impacts on Children in Iraq. https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2019/09/21/new-study-documents-depleted-uranium-impacts-on-children-in-iraq/ Foreign Policy Journal. 21.9.19
(9) Kathryn Higley. The US will send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine-despite military, health and environmental effects. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-opinion-depleted-uranium-munitions-ukrainedespite.html Phys-org. 16.6.23
(10) Daniel Boguslaw, Akela Lacy. House Democrats refuse to say whether they support cluster bomb shipments to Ukraine. https://theintercept.com/2023/06/14/ukraine-cluster-munitions-bombs/ The Intercept. 14.6.23
(11) Bradley Devlin. BlackRock Plots to Buy Ukraine. https://www.globalresearch.ca/blackrock-plots-buy-ukraine/5803685 Global Research. 4.1.23
(12) BlackRock launches Ukraine Development Fund together with the Ukrainian government. https://tinyurl.com/ax24xd4z Bne IntelliNews. 9.5.23
(13) Rajarshi Nath. Ukraine abandoned peace agreement, says Putin while flaunting documents. https://tinyurl.com/akz9cp9k Republic World. 18.6.23
(14) Maurizio Blondet. Americans send Ukrainians to the slaughter. Scientifically. https://www.maurizioblondet.it/gli-americani-mandano-al-massacro-gli-ucraini-scientemente/ 16.6.23
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
