Vinnytsia Poultry Farm: Agri-Oligarchy and Its Impacts in Ukraine

The vast and sprawling Vinnytsia Poultry Farm (VPF) has been disrupting the lives of local villagers ever since construction began in 2010, with concerns ranging from pollution of local water sources to worker safety, health impacts, and heavy vehicle vibrations causing cracks in homes. Despite over a decade of complaints from affected community members, international public financing continues to pour into MHP, totaling over US $1.5 billion to date.

Sitting on 100,000 hectares of rural farmland, MHP boasts that the VPF is Europe's largest poultry farm. Its size is impressive: over 500 times larger than the 40,000 poultry capacity needed to be designated a factory farm. The VPF has at least 19 poultry rearing sites, including 836 poultry houses with 55,000 chickens in each house. In total, the farm has the capacity to house 23 million chickens at a time. It reportedly slaughters more than 8 million heads per week.

MHP is the largest poultry producer in Europe, and its vertically integrated model of operations has directly led to the creation of mega-farms like the VPF. The company controls all stages of chicken production, from growing and processing fodder to the slaughter and packaging of poultry products, right on the farm. Per year, the VPF is estimated to consume over 6 million cubic meters of water and produce organic waste on a scale comparable to the whole of London.

This report explores the human and environmental rights impacts of this project, financed by Development Finance Institutions.

Read the full report here.