June is traditionally a busy period for farmers, since it is the start of the harvest season. “A day of harvesting feeds a year,” our ancestors used to say. Continuing this tradition, modern agricultural producers must take care of a wide range of issues to ensure that their work remains profitable, after their products are sold.
Our hero, Vitalii Lupynos, director of LEV agricultural firm LLC in Zaporizhzhia region, has no problem with choosing a partner for the sale of grain. For seven years, he has been working only with NIBULON.
LEV agricultural firm was founded in 2014 as a family business and was named after the youngest son in the family. The head and director of the farm, Vitalii Lupynos, started his activities by cultivating 280 hectares of land. He recalls that things were going well, and he had grand plans, but he had to abandon them due to the full-scale invasion. At present, Vitaliy cultivates 2,000 hectares of land, where he works alongside 18 employees.
In the spring of 2022, the employees of LEV agricultural firm worked in bulletproof vests and helmets to avoid disrupting the sowing campaign. These images spread worldwide. However, Vitalii believes there is no heroism here; they are simply doing their job, as they have to feed their families, soldiers, and the country.
«Наше господарство розташоване в селі Комишуваха Запорізького району. Це червона зона – передня лінія оборони всього у 20 км від нас. Небезпека давно стала частиною нашого життя, але ми звикли працювати в таких умовах. Хочеться, звісно, більше розуміння з боку держави та банківських установ, які через високі ризики перестали нас кредитувати. Але ми тримаємось, сподіваючись на гарний урожай, а, отже, гідний заробіток».
This year, as usual, the director plans to sell his products through Khortytsia river branch, located not far from the farm. Cooperation was stopped only once, in 2022, when the branch was not operational due to active hostilities nearby. This season, Vitalii will again transport his grain to NIBULON, which has already started a purchasing campaign.
«НІБУЛОН» завжди пропонував найвигідніші закупівельні ціни, та ми й не хотіли зв’язуватися із перекупами в місті, прагнули серйозних відносин. До того ж щороку бачимо покращення в обслуговуванні, з’являються додаткові можливості, сервіси, які пропонує аграрна компанія», – коментує рішення Віталій.
NIBULON appreciates and respects the hard work and efforts of every agricultural producer, maintaining price levels despite the lack of river navigation and the blocked Mykolaiv port hub, which increases logistics costs. International partners help to optimize the economics of grain transportation.
In 2023, the USAID Economic Resilience Activity bought fifty modern hopper wagons, each capable of transporting 70 tons of grain, for NIBULON. In 2024, it purchased thirteen grain trailers with a carrying capacity of 25.5 tons Іt is expected that each trailer will work up to 140,000 ton-kilometers per month, positively affecting the cost of grain transportation, as the cost of grain transportation using the company’s own vehicles is 20% lower than the services of external operators.
According to Mykhailo Rizak, NIBULON’s Director of Government Relations, the receipt of new grain trailers from USAID is another step towards reducing logistics costs and preserving 592 jobs at the river ports on the Dnipro and the Southern Buh, which have been blocked due to the Russian invasion.
«Наші заблоковані річкові порти є важливими бюджетоутворюючими об’єктами для своїх громад, зокрема прифронтової зони. Так, тільки в минулому році ними було сплачено в бюджети близько 70 млн грн податків, з яких 30 млн – це місцеві бюджети, що є суттєвою підтримкою територій. З іншого боку, наші порти є критично важливими для тих агровиробників, які не мають власних потужностей для зберігання збіжжя. У 2023–2024 роках тільки заблокованими річковими елеваторами скористалось 1400 фермерів», – підкреслив спікер.
Mykhailo also noted that since August 2023, when NIBULON received the first hopper wagons from USAID, they have transported almost 73,000 tons of Ukrainian grain to ensure global food security.
Thank you, partners! Feeding the world together!
