Almost half of Ukrainians save on food.
But food prices continue to rise.
And the state is unable to help citizens.
A natural solution to the problem could be for the starving
to move to rural areas to farm on their own land.
This is how 4 million Ukrainian families live.

Eating is becoming too expensive in Ukraine

By the end of the third year of the war with Russia, the breath of hunger began to be felt in Ukraine. In a country characterised by war and a severe economic crisis, food products are constantly becoming more expensive. And the state is unable to raise social standards. In October, the average cost of food and drinks in the country increased by 3.2 per cent. The reason for this was inflation.¹

However, some of the most popular types of products have increased in price significantly more. This price jump is not due to seasonal factors. The reason is the supply shortage that arose due to the abnormally hot summer and the erroneous policies of many agricultural producers.

Here is the increase in the cost of some vegetables from October 2023 to October 2024:

• tomatoes 11.89 per cent;
• cucumbers 38.57 per cent;
• potatoes 202.59 per cent;
• beets 103.75 per cent;
• onions 22.98 per cent.²

In October 2024, the average cost of these vegetables was:

• red tomatoes US$2.4* for 2.2 pounds (UAH101.63 per kg);
• cucumbers US$2.7 for 2.2 pounds (UAH111.45 per kg);
• potatoes US$0.79 for 2.2 pounds (UAH32.19 per kg);
• beets US$0.48 for 2.2 pounds (UAH20.06 per kg);
• onions US$0.42 for 2.2 pounds (UAH17.67 per kg).³

Also, some products have become more expensive due to seasonal factors. For example, in Autumn, chicken eggs traditionally become more expensive in Ukraine. This feature is described in the article “How chicken eggs became golden in Ukraine”.⁴ This year was no exception. Chicken eggs in Ukraine have become more expensive in two months by 52.3 per cent. The average price of 10 chicken eggs reached US$1.6 or UAH66.63.⁵

Seasonal price increases for many other products have also begun. And this seasonal price increase will continue for another six months. After all, in Ukraine, vegetables and fruits traditionally become more expensive from September to April.²

Inflation, seasonal factors and supply shortages have created a perfect storm. Food has become especially unaffordable for many Ukrainians, with 44 per cent of citizens skimping on food.⁶ And this is a general consequence of the poor state of the household economy. Eighty per cent of Ukrainians do not have enough money for a decent life.⁷ And this is not surprising. After all, 40 per cent of Ukrainians earn less than US$250 a month.⁷ During the war years, the poverty rate in the country has increased from 5 per cent to 24 per cent.⁸

The government is powerless! The budget adopted for 2025 does not provide for an increase in the subsistence minimum, minimum wage and pension. As a result, the minimum wage in 2025 will be US$194 (UAH8000), the minimum pension US$57 (UAH2,361), the subsistence minimum US$70 (UAH2,920).⁹

In a country where the price of a potato is almost US$1, such social standards are a sentence of death by starvation.

How to avoid death from starvation

Until recently, Ukraine was an agrarian country whose population was not interested in the cost of vegetables at the market. This was because Ukrainians themselves grew these vegetables in their gardens. But urbanisation has changed the world of Ukrainians. Details of this were described in the article “Rural life is the foundation of the Ukrainian people”. ¹⁰ Inaccessibility of food may become the factor that will force Ukrainians to return to the traditions of their ancestors and move to live in villages again. We are talking specifically about working on your own land plot and not about working for a farmer or a large agricultural enterprise.

The structure of Ukraine’s agriculture does not allow for the employment of many hired workers. Large agricultural holdings dominate the market. These monsters control 53.9 per cent of arable land and provide 54.4 per cent of the total domestic agricultural production in Ukraine. There are 15,600 agricultural companies in Ukraine. These firms specialise in the production of grain and oilseed crops that are exported.¹¹ These large enterprises automate production processes, use a lot of equipment and modern technologies. Large agricultural holdings do not need a large number of people.¹²

There are farmers in Ukraine. But the importance of farmers is very small. Therefore, farmers cannot hire many agricultural workers. Some 31,800 farms control only 15 per cent of arable land and produce 8.7 per cent of all agricultural products.¹¹

In the current situation, there is only one way out. People who want to get food must return to the way of life of their ancestors. Buy or rent a house in the countryside and work on their land. Fortunately, this way of life has been preserved in Ukraine to this day – 3.9 million Ukrainian families work on their own land to feed themselves and sell the surplus harvest at the market. These are the so-called personal household farms.

The size of the land plots of rural families is small: 85 per cent of families cultivate plots of land of 2.4-12.3 acres (1-5 hectares); 9 per cent of families cultivate plots of 12.3-24.7 acres (5-10 hectares); and only 6 per cent of families have plots of land larger than 24.7 acres. Despite this, Ukrainian villagers control 30 per cent of arable land and produce 37.4 per cent of all agricultural products.

The experience of these rural families should be adopted by Ukrainians who do not have enough money for food. Working in your garden is an opportunity to get quality and cheap food! The eternal truth remains unchanged even now. Hunger will lead many Ukrainians to this truth.

*Here and further at the official rate on 17 November 2024 US$1/UAH41.2

References

1. https://sud.ua/uk/news/obshchestvo/315410-bolshe-vsego-podorozhali-ovoschi-i-yaytsa-gosstat-opublikoval-kak-izmenilis-tseny-v-ukraine
2. https://www.epravda.com.ua/publications/2024/10/7/720230/
3. https://index.minfin.com.ua/ua/markets/wares/prods/fruits-vegetables/
4. https://arr.news/2022/11/11/how-chicken-eggs-became-golden-in-ukraine/
5. https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/bude-shche-dorozhche-chomu-tsini-ytsya-pid-1731657297.html
6. https://biz.censor.net/news/3518637/mayije_polovyna_ukrayintsiv_zaoschadjuyut_na_yiji
7. https://biz.censor.net/news/3498663/ponad_40_ukrayintsiv_zaroblyayut_menshe_10tysyach_gryven_opytuvannya
8. https://commons.com.ua/en/hto-i-yak-stvoryuye-v-ukrayini-ostrivci-socialnosti/
9. https://fakty.com.ua/ua/ukraine/20241029-minimalna-pensiya-2025-chy-bude-pidvyshhennya-u-nastupnomu-roczi/
10. https://arr.news/2024/09/23/rural-life-is-the-foundation-of-the-ukrainian-people/
11. https://www.tni.org/uk/article/ukrainian-agriculture-in-wartime
12. https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/duzhe-silna-migratsiya-demograf-rozpoviv-1730194400.html