The farm of NAVIKA LLC – 7 cultivation chambers – is located in the village of Buzova, Kyiv region, there were active battles, the village was occupied by Russian troops. The owners of the farm are Melnyk and Lyubar families. Mark and Iryna Lyubar tell UMDIS Mushroom Information Agency how they are going through the war, how much they estimate the damage and what is needed to be restarted.
UMDIS: Irina and Mark, your farm is territorially at the epicenter of hostilities. How did you and your workers spent the beginning of this war?
Mark: On the morning of the 24th of February when the war started we went to the farm – with children and baggage. We were ready to evacuate. On the territory of Gostomel, which is 30 kilometers from us, active hostilities have already begun. Most of the team decided to stay – then we brought them food to the farm. On the same day we went for Zhytomyr region, where I left Irina with children. The next day, on 25th Irina’s brother and me returned to the farm because we decided to stop working. 7 cameras were loaded, 4 tons of mushrooms in the refrigerator. Bridges were torn down on the roads we used to use.
We gave our employees some cash. They wanted to wait and did not leave – there were 10 people left. When Russian troops arrived and started to shut into houses, we asked our neighbor who had a basement 20 meters from the farm to let them go there. They lived in that basement for eight days: when the shooting stopped for an hour – they ran to our dormitory to wash and eat. The strangest thing was when our pickers called the brigadier – she said she was sitting in the basement – and they asked if there would be some bonuses this month.
When one our relative who used to live in that village dared to leave it under fire – somewhere on March 4 – the administrator, who was also in the basement with the team, drove with him – by two cars they together evacuated our workers. Only one man – Oleg Nikolaevich, a handyman – went missing. He refused to go with others – after March 4 we have no contact with him. When our employees were leaving, they saw many victims who were not even buried. At a distance of 1 kilometer the plane crashed, the rocket hit a maternity hospital near the farm, a rocket fell in the yard of the farm.
UMDIS: How do you estimate the losses – unpicked mushrooms, damage?
Iryna: Based on the cost of compost, casing, logistics, our losses are UAH 1,200,000 (38750 Euro). If I counted the losses based on the value of uncollected 50 tons of mushrooms, not the cost of raw materials – it would be even more. 4 tons of unsold mushrooms in the refrigerator – that is another UAH 200,000 (6460 Euro). Together with damages: roof, chiller, windows – UAH 2.5 million (80740 Euro).
The losses have not yet been fully estimated. The roof of the farm is like a sieve, the house is cut, 13 windows are broken, a packing machine is broke through, the chiller heat exchanger is damaged – a fragment of a rocket has stuck in it. 8,000 plastic boxes for mushrooms burned in a fire on the farm started from the wreckage – the wall of the farm during fire was damaged by temperature.
When there was no light after the village became free, the gate was opened – looters took karchers, welding machine, other things – losses of about UAH 50,000 (1615 Euro). Police found our compressor and generator in the village. I didn’t write indictment – I think if someone needed it for recharging – it’s not a problem, they would just return it.
A state Ukrainian commission has come to us. We have invited it – this feature is available in the digital state application DIIA (damaged buildings section) or through local governments (communities). Commission estimates the amount of losses, it is planned that they will be compensated – possibly from the UN fund. The commission was divided into two groups – the first inspected the damaged dwelling houses – the second industrial buildings, so that they could be used as soon as possible and productions have opportunity to restart as soon as possible. The commission has arrived very quickly – a week after being called. On April 13 the village was liberated – then there were sappers, etc. – on April 17 the state evaluation commission already arrived.
UMDIS: Our industry is very united, I know that now you are in Western Ukraine, and Mark works as a technologist on the farm of your friend, mushroom grower. However what are your plans for returning to Kyiv and your own farm?
Irina: 90% of my relatives and friends who went to Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria have already returned. They ask why we are not going to Kyiv: it turns out that you are also getting used even to the war. We want to return to Kyiv and start working – but not before mid-June. I do not want to buy and set new windows more than once – so better to wait. I heard that for June all compost is already sold. Also our cost of production will now be UAH 45-50 (1.45-1.62 Euro) – and that is unknown how the price will go down in summer due to enlargement of offers. I know that mushroom growers take loans to start – they begin from 1-2 chambers only. We calculated: we need UAH 1 million 100 thousand (35535 Euro) to load all 7 cameras. It’s just raw materials. And reconstruction, workers, much more. We will start with some chambers too – not all: we will not have enough money to start immediately. And a damaged chiller will not give the necessary power for the summer for all 7 chambers.
UMDIS: I know that although the farm is not working now, you gave jobs to some workers. What do you ask them to do?
Mark: Some of our employees have their houses been destroyed. We have sent them to our dormitory. They unload the chambers with an open mushroom, wash, disinfect. They first worked in respirators – because an open fungus produce spores – you can get out of the chamber with pneumonia.
When there was an occupation of the village – we could not get to the farm at all. We didn’t even know if we still had a farm. The first our acquaintance who came in and said that the farm was standing – came on April 12. On April 18, a person from us came to assess the situation.
We washed the refrigerator for a long time. We had 4 tons of mushrooms as of February 24. Of these, 3.5 tons were distributed – the brigadier who lives in the village got the key to refrigerator from us. We asked her to write ads in the village group that we give mushrooms for free. Mushrooms were also taken to checkpoints of our army. Therefore, only half a ton rotted – but everything had to be thoroughly disinfected in the refrigerator.
UMDIS: Are the suppliers ready to help growers now?
Irina: The Agaris composting plant (the biggest in Ukraine) understands us. On April 23, we brought compost – put it on the shelf – and the war began. So far we have not been forced to pay. Also I think it will be possible to agree on deferred payment with the manufacturers of casing, although I don’t know if it’s worth to do. The manufacturer of the casing Yevhen Skrypnychenko has called us, he says they work, and another manufacturer, Torado also has called and work. Producers of casing take loans from the bank to restart because customers have not paid them after the war begin. They really want to work – in this situation, it is not even convenient to ask for deferrals or discounts.
As for boxes for mushrooms, at the beginning of the war the farm had 700 rented pulling boxes. When our troops liberated the village – 674 boxes remained – 26 were stolen. I am now writing the fourth letter to the company that leased those boxes. The first letter is an explanation of why the boxes got lost. The second is that I ask them to become exempted from paying for lost boxes because it happened for reasons beyond my control. The third is that I ask them to send me invoice for these pullings, because they did not agree. I pay the value at a discount of 30% – UAH 120 (3.88 Euro) for each box lost during the war. Because I am a holder and I am responsible for the subject of the lease according to the contract. But the next letter – asking them to release me from paying the rent again for all 700 boxes – for April! Because they were on my farm when there was an occupation of the village. Should I buy an armored tank, go and fight back their pulling boxes?
UMDIS: Did supermarkets pay for pre-war deliveries?
Iryna: The ATB-Market company behaved very decently – they paid all invoices, regardless of the fact that we stopped to deliver. Silpo (Fozzy Group) owes huge sums for the mushrooms shipped in January, the manager replies: “we cannot pay now because there is the war” and “we do not steal – we will pay when we can”. At first they said they need money t help Ukrainians – that is nice, but why do they help at the expense of suppliers and not their own? The contract states that they may not pay in case of force majeure. To be honest – they pay now only to those mushroom growers who can supply mushrooms – even with smaller delays than before. Others are told that they will pay just if we start supply. However for what money shell we start?
It’s the story of big corporations – that is very different with people. Almost all wholesalers who bought mushrooms from us and sold on the market – already paid. A wholesaler from Sumy region called me – his house was bombed and destroyed, he said me: “I owe you UAH 10,000 (326 Euro), I remember – I’ll return”.
The author of the interview is UMDIS Mushroom Information Agency of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
