Vinnytsia, Lviv and Poltava regions are the leaders in harvesting vegetables of the new crop

Harvesting of vegetable crops is actively underway in Ukraine. In general, vegetables have already been collected from an area of 88.4 thousand hectares (23.2%) with an average yield of 16.39 tons per hectare. As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, Vinnytsia region is the leader in terms of the largest harvested area (51%), Lviv region - in the number of vegetables grown (151 thousand tons), and Poltava region has the highest yield - 24.4 tons per hectare.

Currently, 1.450 million tons of vegetables have been grown and harvested in the regions, of which cabbage — 105.4 thousand tons, cucumbers — 310.3 thousand tons, tomatoes — 175 thousand tons, onions — 428 thousand tons, carrots — 51, 7 thousand tons, table beets — 35.3 thousand tons. 711.5 thousand tons of potatoes were grown with an average yield of 13.89 tons per hectare. The highest yield of potatoes is in Khmelnytskyi farms (29 tons per hectare).

Note that other regions are planning to correct the situation in vegetable growing. In particular, in 2024, the implementation of the reclamation project worth UAH 750 million will continue in Odesa. There, it is planned to restore the irrigation system to approximately 100,000 hectares of land, increase the yield of grain crops in the region by 50%, and of vegetables by 85%.

In general, vegetable growing in the south of Ukraine will recover faster than grain production. Although the destruction of Kakhovskaya HPP dealt a blow to the agricultural sector of southern Ukraine, after the liberation everything will be able to be restored due to irrigation. This opinion was expressed by the economist of the investment department of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Andrii Yarmak. The expert explained that vegetables and fruits bring much more profit from one hectare. Accordingly, the investment, even if irrigation will take place at the expense of wells, pays off very quickly.

"If we talk about the payback of investments in irrigation from wells for grain crops, they are, in principle, not obvious. Because a lot of water is needed. In addition, there is a large ecological aspect that can make this type of irrigation of crops that are grown on very large areas impractical," says the expert.