Ukraine is actively returning agricultural land to circulation

Only in March, mining units of governmental and non-governmental operators surveyed more than 26.5 thousand hectares of agricultural land in Ukraine and returned almost 23.5 thousand hectares to operation. In total, since the beginning of the current year, they surveyed 80.3 thousand hectares of land, of which about 74 thousand hectares have been returned to use.

As the First Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyridenko reported, 74,000 hectares of land is, relatively speaking, an additional 350,000 tons of wheat, which farmers will harvest this year from fields cleared of mines and explosives. Currently, the Government is comprehensively solving the task of speeding up the clearing of landmines in Ukraine, and in March, the procedure for compensating farmers who will order services for humanitarian demining of lands was approved. In particular, in March, the Ministry of Economy and the technology company Palantir, which specializes in big data analytics, signed a partnership agreement. Cooperation will take place in such areas as the digitization of humanitarian demining operations, the automation of the processes of the National Mine Action Strategy for the period until 2033, the expansion of opportunities for the coordination of land clearance and assessment, the determination of regional priorities and risk management in mine action, the use of an assistant based on an artificial intelligence platform Palantir (AIP) for Mine Action Decision Making. Ukraine is also working on the implementation of domestic developments and strengthening the capabilities of operators by purchasing Ukrainian machinery and equipment.

It should be noted that during 2022-2027, international partners will provide $700 million for the humanitarian demining of lands in Ukraine. The key donors are Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the USA. Partners provide financial support for demining, and also attract the best technologies, practices and specialists in the specified field to Ukraine. In general, the Government is working on strengthening the coordination of mine action activities with the professional and international community. It is planned to ensure coordination through the Sectoral Working Group, which unites donors of Ukraine and the mine action cluster. The latter was restored in 2024 and serves as a platform for program coordination of the involved entities.

It should be noted that currently a quarter of Ukrainian land remains contaminated by mines and other explosive objects. Currently, the state register of mine-contaminated territories of Ukraine is being prepared for launch. The Ministry of Internal Affairs transmits information on landmine contamination to the Center for Humanitarian Demining. In addition, 33 operators of anti-mine activities were certified in Ukraine, which will help farmers to return agricultural land to cultivation. The number of demining tools being developed is also increasing. Among other things, the so-called "People's deminer" was presented in Ukraine. This machine passed the first tests on one of the military training grounds and they were successful. The car is currently undergoing certification. The system performs automatic work even on large areas, and its accuracy reaches two centimeters, taking into account the given route. The demining prototype was developed on the basis of the Ukrainian-made T-156 tractor.

In addition, during April, a compensation mechanism from the state for the humanitarian demining of agricultural lands will be operational in Ukraine, for the implementation of which in 2024 UAH 3 billion have been allocated from the budget. According to Yulia Svyridenko, compensation was provided for farmers in Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions whose land plots are contaminated. In order to receive compensation, the farmer must provide confirmation of a non-technical survey. The Minister of Economy added that agricultural producers who have a tax debt, are in the process of liquidation or bankruptcy of enterprises, are citizens of the aggressor country or are under sanctions will not be able to receive compensation.