This year's spring sowing campaign will cost approximately UAH 200 billion

This year, the spring sowing campaign will be one of the most expensive in recent years. According to the forecast of Pavlo Koval, Director General of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, the cost of the work may exceed UAH 200 billion.  

All regions have already started spring field work, and their intensity currently depends on weather conditions, soil condition, and resource availability. It should be noted that this year it is planned to sow up to 6 million hectares with spring grain crops. The overall structure of crops will remain unchanged, only the area under soybeans will be reduced due to overproduction in 2023, when a harvest of 6 million tons caused a drop in prices for the crop. The supply of mineral fertilizers remains at the level of previous years, but weather conditions cause concern among farmers. After all, due to the lack of precipitation, many regions emerged from winter with dry and cracked soils. This will significantly complicate moisture retention during the sowing campaign.

But in addition to purely military risks that affect the frontline regions, the main problem remains the same – the shortage of qualified personnel. The situation is so critical that Ukraine will probably have to involve foreigners in seasonal work.

It should be noted that as of March 20, farmers have sown 250.4 thousand hectares with spring grain crops. Currently, farmers are actively sowing wheat, barley, peas, oats, and niche grain crops. As of the mentioned date, 4% of the area has been sown according to the forecast, including wheat 36.7 thousand hectares (16% of the projected area), barley - 133.5 thousand hectares (17%), peas - 57 thousand hectares (26%), oats - 16.9 thousand hectares (10%), and other grains - 6.4 thousand hectares (6%). Mykolaiv region (43 thousand hectares), Ternopil region (31.3 thousand hectares) and Kirovohrad region (25.9 thousand hectares) are leading in terms of sown area of grain crops.