The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has awarded two subsidiaries of Ukraine’s Industrial Milk Company (IMC) a US$20mn working capital loan. The loan will provide funding to support pre and post-harvesting operations for the agricultural export-orientated business.

As part of the deal, IMC will undergo an EBRD-commissioned assessment of resource efficiency and climate change adaptation. The company which is listed on the Warsaw Exchange and involved in corn, sunflower, wheat, soybean, potato and dairy farming, will be the first country in Ukraine to do so.

The assessment is aimed at helping IMC review its current farming and cultivation practices and draw on best international practices in the management of climate risk. The company will then develop a strategy based on the findings of the review, which it says it expects to implement in the 2016-17 period.

The loan agreement is very important for the company, both financially and operationally, says CEO of IMC Alex Lissitsa.

“It is not only one of the few opportunities today to get a loan in a difficult economic and political situation in Ukraine, but also the opportunity to join the global initiatives and projects from the EBRD.”

The project is part of the EBRD’s strategy to support development of the local agribusiness sector, which currently accounts for around 16% of Ukraine’s gross GDP.

The EBRD is Ukraine’s largest international financial investor. As of the end of June 2016, the bank had made a total cumulative commitment of almost €12bn through 364 projects since the start of its operations in the country.