Drought in Ukraine destroyed crops on 0.5 mln ha

The lack of precipitation in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine this year has led to losses in oilseed and grain crops. The affected farms need financial support from the state to conduct the autumn sowing campaign. This was stated on TV by the deputy chairman of the VAR (All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council) Denys Marchuk, the press service of the association reports.

“In a number of regions that specialize in growing oilseed crops, in particular sunflower, the lack of sufficient precipitation has led to significant losses. Despite difficult weather conditions, this season’s harvest allows us to fully meet Ukraine’s domestic needs for oilseeds and maintain export potential. However, corn crops have also suffered. According to our estimates, the drought has destroyed the crop on an area of more than 500 thousand hectares. Some producers in Kherson, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions have already reseeded their fields for winter crops, but do not have the funds for sowing.

We are appealing to the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine to find an opportunity to provide support per hectare to ensure work in the fields and food security for the next season,” he said.

About 24.8 million tons of grain and legumes have already been threshed in Ukraine, and the figures are expected to grow.

“Compared to last year, this season we are about two weeks behind in terms of harvest due to weather conditions — both drought and significant precipitation in July. Despite crop losses in some regions, in other regions the yield indicators are higher, which gives reason to hope for a harvest no worse than last year — about 56 million tons, of which at least 40 million tons can be exported,” the deputy head of the VAR noted.

Tags: Ukraine, drought