The Embassy of Denmark on Thursday held a panel discussion to highlight the impact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had on that country’s food production and on domestic food production and the needs to rehabilitate Ukrainian agriculture. 

“The war in Ukraine remains a top foreign policy priority for Denmark,” Danish Ambassador to the United States Jesper Møller Sørensen said in opening remarks.

Denmark and Ukraine share a long history of agricultural exchange and Denmark is committed to supporting the redevelopment of Ukrainian agriculture,  he added. 

Princess Marie of Denmark introduced Ukraine Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova, who said, “Ukraine is defending its homeland but what it really likes to do is grow food.”

Markarova noted that Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter, has been “one of the key players in food security.”

Caitlin Welsh, director of the global food and water security at the Center for Strategic and International studies, said as she opened a panel discussion that the war in Ukraine “is the biggest disruptor to agriculture in a century.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said that next year Ukraine will export less than it has in a decade, Welsh added. 

Noting that Ukraine is one of the biggest producers of wheat and other crops, Welsh said, “There are so many benefits to investing in Ukrainian agriculture. Investing in Ukraine is a key way to counter Russia on a global scale.”

The price tag for rebuilding Ukrainian agriculture is $55 billion, Welsh said. 

The Ukrainian land now controlled by Russia and that Russia would like to keep as part of a peace agreement amounts to 22% of the Ukrainian agricultural base, Welsh said. 

Kathryn Schein Prudhomme, the partnerships office at the United Nations World Food Program office in Washington, said WFP is focusing on the immediate need to feed 1.5 million people and longer term food needs.

Linda Roth, the chief communications officer at the World Central Kitchen, said the group established by chef José Andrés has served 282,000 hot meals in Ukraine, but it is has also distributed 10,000 chickens and 50,000 seed packets so that Ukrainians can produce their own food. 

“Food is dignity and hope” and carries a message “you are not alone,” Roth said. 

Esben Lunde Larsen, a senior health and agriculture specialist in the Pandemic Fund at the World Bank, said the bank is providing direct support to Ukraine and also supports its application for membership in the European Union.

Møller Sørensen noted that 5,000 Ukrainians are now working in Danish agriculture, and Larsen, a former aide in the Danish parliament, said that 97% of Ukrainian refugees have been able to enter the labor market in Denmark.