The current spring sowing campaign will cost farmers about UAH 200 billion. This forecast was voiced by the general director of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation Pavlo Koval in an interview with Ukrainian Radio.
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He recalled that this is already the fourth spring sowing campaign carried out by Ukraine under conditions of a full-scale invasion.
The expert believes that this sowing will not be easy. Due to the weather conditions that have been there since autumn, it was not possible to finish sowing the winter wedge, so now we need to catch up with spring crops. Less winter rape and partly wheat were sown, and rye remained at the same level, although its area has significantly decreased.
Lack of personnel
Yes, almost all regions have started spring field work, says Koval, but the intensity depends on the maturation of the soil and weather conditions. The availability of material resources varies by region, and the biggest problem, apart from the bombing of frontline regions, is the lack of personnel.
“We feel a 'hunger for personnel'. We have been noticing this for many years now and this problem is getting worse, unfortunately. There is no problem with financing anywhere. This campaign will most likely 'exceed' 200 billion. This is a huge figure that we need to understand from what resources to finance it,” Koval noted.
The expert emphasized that the issue of loans in the de-occupied territories has still not been resolved systematically, and previously actively advertised support programs are now being cut back, in particular USAID is curtailing some of them, which causes daily problems.
“I wouldn't say that these are some cardinal factors that will change our attitude to the sowing campaign, but we need to react to them. We are reacting and will decide,” Koval assured.
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