Ukrainian farmers are set to lose around €800 million/year due to the ongoing war in the country, according to the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC).
The UAC said that the Russian invasion has meant that farmers in Ukraine have not just lost land and crops, but also the ability to export produce and earn income.
The group, which represents Ukrainian farmers, estimates that the country’s grain harvest is down by 40%, vegetables by 25% and fruit by 10%.
“Rockets and shells falling on the fields make it impossible to cultivate them, pollute the land, and fires destroy crops,” it said.
Farmers
The UAC said that the minefield in Ukraine is now estimated to be around 250,000km2.
“This exceeds the size of the Korean Peninsula, Laos, Romania, and the UK,” it said.
Currently, 8 million hectares of fields are thought to be mined, of which 6 million are located in Russian-occupied territories and another 2 million in the liberated areas.
UAC said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has also caused at least $60 billion worth of damage to nature.
Andriy Dykun, head of the UAC and SaveUA charity foundation said that over 32 million tonnes of the grain harvest was lost in 2022.
“This is a significant blow to the industry and the country’s economy as a whole.
“Due to the occupation of the territories and hostilities in the frontline regions, the largest losses, 75–80%, were incurred in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions,” he said.
“Farmers not only from the areas under constant shelling or occupation but also from other regions lost money because there is no point in harvesting if it cannot be exported or sold.
“This is especially true for corn, much of which remained in the fields over the winter due to low sales prices and expensive drying. These factors made harvesting unprofitable for farmers,” he added.
Problems for farmers were compounded by power outages last autumn and winter due to damage to infrastructure.
Dykun said that farmers in the area where the Kakhovka hydroelectric power-plant was destroyed in early June are now experiencing ongoing irrigation problems.
Water from the Kakhovka reservoir was used to irrigate more than 500,000ha.
The damage caused to the dam means that up to 1.5 million hectares of agricultural land in three regions will be unable to be used for the next three to five years, he said.
The UAC said that 1.2 million tonnes of grain, about 500,000t of vegetables, and 250,000t of berries were grown in these areas.
“Ukraine will lose about 2 million tonnes of agricultural production annually. In monetary terms, this is $1.5 billion annually,” Dykun said.