As Ukraine Recovery Conference Closes, Mercy Corps Urges Partners to Invest in Livelihoods

July 11, 2025

Following the third Ukraine Recovery Conference, Mercy Corps welcomes support to Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts and urges the international community to maintain and grow support to livelihoods: it is imperative that Ukraine's key industries, including agriculture, be prioritized alongside life-saving humanitarian assistance as crucial for recovery. 
 

Mercy Corps Country Director for Ukraine, Vicki Aken, says: 

“Recovery is about so much more than buildings and infrastructure. Well before these solutions, Mercy Corps urges governments and donors to invest in demining, and livelihoods support for agricultural communities – the backbone of Ukraine's export economy. If we don't invest in frontline communities and farmers now, there will be no one left to invest in when the war ends.

"Without access to safe land, resources, and long-term support, farmers and families on the frontlines remain trapped in survival mode, unable to rebuild their lives or feed their communities. They are precisely the engines of recovery: In regions where agriculture is often the only source of income, these communities urgently need demining, legal clarity, and investment.

"And yet, no amount of aid can compensate for land that remains too dangerous to use. As landmine contamination persists, civilians and farmers are increasingly clearing their fields by hand – putting their lives at risk to survive. Without urgent investment in humanitarian demining at scale, Ukraine’s recovery will be stalled, its agricultural productivity restricted, and displaced families unable to return home safely. The international community must not risk creating long-term dependency and deepening cycles of poverty by overlooking these issues in Ukraine's recovery."
 

About Mercy Corps in Ukraine 
Since the full-scale war began in 2022, Mercy Corps has supported more than 1 million war-affected people in Ukraine and neighboring countries. We have provided cash assistance; grants for micro, small and medium businesses and farming enterprises; and household, food, and hygiene kits for vulnerable people affected by the war.  

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