The agriculture sector of the Donbass Region in eastern Ukraine is facing serious challenges caused by the ongoing military conflict and consequent disruption of the earlier-established value chains. An advisory service potentially could help farmers to adapt to the changed circumstances. To inform the development process, an interview survey was conducted among 80 farmers in the region of their perceived information and advisory needs. Most interviewees stated that many issues affect the performance of their farm. Of all the given farmer × issue 'interactions' (i.e. a given farmer facing a specific issue), advice had been sought in around 70 per cent of instances. For any specific issue, most farmers sought advice from several sources. Interviewees attached very high importance to accessibility, convenience, previous personal experience, personal recommendation and confidence in the quality of advice given. Friends and family was the most popular source of advice, with farmers' organisations, local government agencies and agricultural Internet portals all being consulted by more than half of the interviewees. Many other sources were used by fewer than ten farmers. Twelve interviewees said that they would seek advice from advisory services if this was available. Following the analysis of the questionnaire results, three farmer focus groups were held to help interpret them. We conclude that, even in the absence of a formal advisory service, many farmers in the region are actively acquiring and sharing knowledge and that the agricultural innovation system continues to function despite the disruption caused by the conflict. Any new intervention should recognise this fact and be designed to improve knowledge flows between actors further, rather than to replace those that currently exist.

COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in the beginning of 2020 introduced implications in the course of global trade relations. Countries of the world have applied temporary measures for regulation their foreign economic activity in various sectors, and, first of all, in the fields of food and medical supplies. Cereal crops play an important role in ensuring national food security, while being one of the main foods for consumption, as well as an important component of the country's economic growth, since they are a key commodity group in the foreign economic activity of Ukraine. The article discusses the impact of the newly formed pandemic implications on the cereal crops trade balance of Ukraine. Based on the calculation of food balance sheets, self-sufficiency and import dependency ratios of Ukraine for selected cereals were identified with further formulation of recommendations to increase the level of self-sufficiency for rice in Ukraine.