Demining of agrarian areas will be the key issue at the Peace Summit

Mine clearance of agricultural areas in Ukraine will be a key issue along with exports at the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, said Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, emphasizing the importance of this process for food security.

He said this on the air of "We are Ukraine" TV channel.

"One of the main issues is the demining of our territories, especially the fields that remain mined. This applies to both the temporarily occupied and already de-occupied territories, where demining work is still underway. This process can take decades.

Marchuk notes that in the de-occupied parts of Ukraine, about 2 million hectares of land need to be surveyed and demined. These territories have the potential to grow crops that are needed to ensure food security in the world, including countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

"The faster the demining process develops, the more actively farmers in Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Donetsk oblasts will conduct field work. Even under the threat of constant shelling, for example, in Donetsk Oblast, farmers have finished the sowing campaign, and it is very important for them to be able to sell what they harvest. This is the only chance for people to gain financial solvency," he added.

Marchuk said that state guarantees for 2024 in the amount of three billion hryvnias to compensate for demining costs would be useful. The program envisages that 80% of the costs will be covered by the state and 20% by commodity producers, and these funds will be enough to start the process.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 15/06/2024