Risky agriculture covers more than 60% of cropland in Ukraine: Minister Leshchenko

More than 60% of cropland in Ukraine is located in an area of risky agriculture, announced the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Roman Leshchenko.

"Either we re-equip and meet modern environmental challenges, or Ukrainian agriculture will lose its leadership position. Today, more than 60% of the area is actually located in the risky farming zone. Critical periods in recent years for us are July and August," he commented.

Last year in some areas there was no rainfall for four calendar months. And the south of Ukraine is becoming an increasingly risky area for farming with each year.

In responding to global climate change, the Agrarian Ministry undertakes the following measures: precision and conservation agriculture to increase yields and optimize the use of resources; removal of degraded land from use through conservation to restore exhausted soils via a mechanism of reclamation, afforestation, or re-naturalization; rehabilitation of irrigation systems to preserve and manage soil moisture, the minister says.

Roman Leshchenko adds that agriproducers need to move away from classic ploughing techniques and switch to Mini-Till and Strip-Till technologies.

"These are energy-saving technologies that involve minimal field trips, the concentration of biota in the soil, preservation of residues in the fields, and a 30% reduction in fuel and chemical inputs. Farmers who do not convert to modern tillage technologies become uncompetitive," argues Roman Leshchenko.

Previously reported that HarvEast agricultural holding invested USD 150 thou. in an irrigation system in its fields in Kyiv region.