A new programme to remove mines from agricultural land impacted by the war in Ukraine, which will enable rural communities to return to farming, has been launched.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) today (Thursday, June 22) launched the joint programme in collaboration with Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD).
FSD is a humanitarian non-governmental organisation (NGO) that specialises in locating and neutralising land mines.
The project is focusing on farmers with land plots smaller than 300 ha and rural families who grow food for their own consumption.
“Without urgent action, agricultural production in Ukraine will continue to collapse, with direct consequences on food security and diet diversity in the country, and potential ripple effects on regional and global markets,” said Matthew Hollingworth, a WFP representative in Ukraine.
Farmland in Ukraine
The FAO has estimated that the overall value of the damages and losses for agricultural enterprises cultivating up to 250 ha is in the region of $3.85 billion in the crop and livestock sectors.
Pierre Vauthier, head of the FAO Ukraine country office said: “Prior to the war, the Ukrainian agriculture sector produced sufficient fruits, vegetables, crop and livestock products to feed around 400 million people globally”.
Among the factors that have led to the reduction of farming include the temporary closure of farms, loss control of farmland, death of owners and sale of land which are all associated with the escalation of the war.
The FAO said: “Approximately 12 percent of small-scale agricultural enterprises reported that part of their land is potentially contaminated by unexploded ordnances.
“Oblasts (regions) along the front-line appeared to be the most affected, with 32 percent of respondents reporting so.”
According to Vauthier many families and small-scale farmers in front-line regions are not planting this season because “they know their fields are dangerous or they are risking their lives to plant on mined lands or contaminated soils”.
Restoring farmland
FAO, WFP and FSD in close coordination with communities, local authorities and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, plan to:
- Identify lands that require demining by using satellite imagery;
- Demining teams will clear lands from mines and other explosive remnants, prioritising areas that can be quickly cleared with minimal work;
- The FAO and FSD will test soils to assess contamination by pollutants left behind by exploded weapons;
- The FAO and WFP will survey small farmers and rural families on the resources they need to restart agricultural production, and will provide direct in-kind or cash support where possible.
The project has been funded by the Ukrainian humanitarian fund, financed by a United Nations pooled fund, and by private donors.