Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Vitaly Koval, has identified the slow growth of processing in the country's agro-industrial complex as being due to a lack of unsecured lending. He pointed out that Ukrainian banks are not providing project financing, which is necessary for the construction of processing plants. Koval urged for a shift in banking philosophy from collateral financing to project financing. The Minister also mentioned the operation of the Fund for Partial Guarantee of Loans in Agriculture in Ukraine for the past year and its provision of guarantees for the first 13 loans.