Minesweeper: Will wheat grow in fields planted with Russian mines this year?

After February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian army has already managed to liberate about 40% of the territories occupied by the enemy. However, it has been learned Focus Less Bread. Farmers will be able to run a spring planting campaign far from any deoccupied territory, in a new review of what to plant in the spring and whether Ukraine is threatened by a food crisis.

The situation is still difficult, especially in the Kharkiv region, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated last fall.

“The front line has changed, but it’s dangerous to work there because of the constant shelling. Most of the fields are mined. The fields need to be cleared of shells, which is quite a long and complex process. 5% of the land bank – we don’t even consider it for work because they are so dangerous,” he said. Focus Director of the agro-industry department of the Agrotrade group Alexander Ovsyanik.

Alexander Nechiporenko, Deputy Director of the National Science Center “Institute of Agricultural Economics”, Executive Director of the Northern Interregional Science Center of the National Academy of Sciences, confirmed: it will not be possible to carry out a full-fledged planting campaign in the deoccupied territories for more than a year.

The expert cites the preliminary estimates of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine as of October 2022: About 1.7 million hectares of Ukrainian territory are contaminated with explosive objects and mines, and demining of such areas will require at least 10 years.

“The possibility of holding a planting campaign in de-occupied areas will primarily depend on how close the front line is and whether the area is contaminated with explosive objects,” says Petr Melnyk, president of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB). “Unfortunately, the entire de-occupied zone is being overseen by engineers and a large area needs to be cleared of mines. So, most likely, not all farmers on the liberated land will be able to make it. Spring planting this year.”

But mines are not the only problem. After all, according to Alexander Nechiporenko , where ammunition falls, heavy metals – cadmium, lead, etc. Accordingly, the ecological situation of the war-ravaged Ukrainian lands will not allow them to be fully used for growing crops in the coming years..

In addition, the agricultural producers themselves, whose businesses have survived the occupation and have been plundered by Russian looters, face major problems. According to Aleksandr Büyükli, farmers in the liberated areas often face the following obstacles:

• land mines;
• seed shortage;
• lack of mineral fertilizers;
• lack of fuel;
• problems with equipment and spare parts;
• continued bombardment;
• lack of access to loan funds.

However, in the meeting focus The companies also cite mainly positive experiences with the territories liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the spring of 2022.

“In 2022, we were unable to cultivate approximately 32,000 hectares of land, primarily for safety reasons,” the comment says. Focus Alexander Verzhikhovskiy is COO of IMC.

According to the interlocutor of the publication, in February-March 2022 there were intense clashes on these lands, and after their release, until their return to operation, the company had the task of investigating the presence of explosive objects and, if necessary, demining. As these works have already been completed, IMC has the opportunity to plant 100% of all their fields this season.

Previously Focus He examined the damage done by Russian energy terrorism to the Ukrainian economy and business.