The Ministry of Economy has headed a working group to create a system for analysing soils affected by hostilities and developing recommendations for farmers working on such lands. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Bezkaravainyi at the Forum “Cleaning up the territories: restoring soil and infrastructure”.
“Most of the sites we are currently working on as part of the humanitarian demining programme are not in close proximity to the frontline. They are only sporadically contaminated with explosive ordnance, and the content of heavy metals or toxic substances in such soils does not have a significant impact on product quality. Soil sampling and analysis according to international standards will only strengthen Ukraine’s position in the international market,” said Ihor Bezkaravainyi.
The Ministry of Economy, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is working to approve an internationally recognised methodology for soil sampling and analysis. They are also strengthening the capacity of domestic laboratories to carry out analyses and facilitating their certification according to international standards to recognise the results of their work globally.
“I urge farmers to join the joint work on soil analysis. We will distribute a simple protocol for sampling and analysis and invite the agricultural community to exchange data on soil quality,” said Ihor Bezkaravainyi.
The Ministry of Economy, together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, have engaged scientists from leading Ukrainian universities to build a scientifically based probabilistic model of the transition of potential pollutants into agricultural products. This model will help identify areas where there may be a greater risk to product quality due to the terrain, soil composition and groundwater.
“Based on the model of pollutant transfer to plants and the biological characteristics of the most common varieties and crops, we will be able to create comprehensive recommendations for farming in the areas affected by the war. And these recommendations will be very helpful to farmers,” said Ihor Bezkaravainyi.
The working group, coordinated by FAO, also includes representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. (Government portal)