Farming in Ukraine Will Take Years to Recover after War
2023-03-13
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1Food prices around the world increased when Russia invaded Ukraine last year partly because Ukraine is a big grain exporter.
2Ukrainian farmers left their fields to either fight in the war or go to safer places.
3In many places, food production stopped.
4Before the war, Ukraine was the fourth-largest corn exporter and fifth largest wheat exporter.
5Much of the grain went to poor countries in Africa and the Middle East.
6But grain production will take years to get back to normal once the war ends. Experts say it might take decades.
7More than 20 experts told the Reuters news agency that it would take years to fix the damage to the place once called "Europe's breadbasket."
8Andrii Povod is one of the Ukrainian farmers who stopped working when the war started.
9When the army recaptured Kherson in November, he returned to his land. He found everything in ruins.
10Two tractors were gone. Most of the wheat was missing. All 11 buildings used to store crops and machinery were destroyed.
11"For our region, it's a very big problem. This good soil, we cannot reproduce it," he said.
12Scientists who study soil and agriculture in Ukraine have said at least 10.5 million hectares of farmland has been damaged by the war.
13That is 25 percent of Ukraine's farmland.
14Tanks rolling over the land have compressed the soil, the scientists said.
15Shelling has hurt the small organisms that enrich the soil. And mining, digging and explosions might have destroyed some farmland completely.
16Sviatoslav Baliuk is the head of the Ukrainian Soil Institute.
17He said the war could reduce Ukraine's production by 10 to 20 million tons.
18Ukraine's agriculture ministry chose not to comment to Reuters about long-term soil damage and harm to the farming.
19Beyond the fields and soil, Povod and many other farmers lost equipment and storage buildings that will be costly to replace.
20Andriy Vadaturskyi is the head one of Ukraine's largest grain producers.
21He said farmers need financial help.
22Today, he noted, there is a problem of high prices, but there is food ready to ship out of Ukraine's ports on the Black Sea.
23He said in one year, the situation could be much worse.
24There could be "a shortage of food."
25A working group of scientists created by the Ukrainian government estimated it would take $15 billion to remove the mines and make the soil healthy again.
26Baliuk said it could be done in three years or in 200 years depending on how badly the soil is damaged.
27Joseph Hupy studies soil and land at Purdue University in the U.S. state of Indiana.
28He has written about the effects of war on farmland.
29He told Reuters that some land in Ukraine might have been changed so much from explosions that it cannot be farmed again.
30Naomi Rintoul-Hynes studies soil at Canterbury Christ Church University in Britain.
31She said that the lead from ammunition can contaminate the soil so much that plants grown there can be harmful for humans.
32The problems do not end with the soil, mines and other land damage.
33The war destroyed roads and railways that get crops to market.
34The Kyiv School of Economics said in October that it might cost more than $35 billion to rebuild roads and other transportation lines.
35Caitlin Welsh studies food security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
36She said people think once the war is over, food production will restart.
37"With Ukraine, just repairing the infrastructure is going to take a really long time," Welsh said.
38In addition, some of the farmers are running out of money.
39Dmitry Skornyakov, leads HarvEast, a Ukrainian farming company.
40He said farmers have enough money right now, because they had a good year just before the war started.
41However, he said, half the farmers will have serious financial problems if the war goes into 2024.
42"The future," he said, "is from grey to dark at the moment."
43I'm Dan Friedell.
1Food prices around the world increased when Russia invaded Ukraine last year partly because Ukraine is a big grain exporter. 2Ukrainian farmers left their fields to either fight in the war or go to safer places. In many places, food production stopped. 3Before the war, Ukraine was the fourth-largest corn exporter and fifth largest wheat exporter. Much of the grain went to poor countries in Africa and the Middle East. 4But grain production will take years to get back to normal once the war ends. Experts say it might take decades. 5Soil recovery question 6More than 20 experts told the Reuters news agency that it would take years to fix the damage to the place once called "Europe's breadbasket." 7Andrii Povod is one of the Ukrainian farmers who stopped working when the war started. When the army recaptured Kherson in November, he returned to his land. He found everything in ruins. 8Two tractors were gone. Most of the wheat was missing. All 11 buildings used to store crops and machinery were destroyed. 9"For our region, it's a very big problem. This good soil, we cannot reproduce it," he said. 10Scientists who study soil and agriculture in Ukraine have said at least 10.5 million hectares of farmland has been damaged by the war. That is 25 percent of Ukraine's farmland. 11Tanks rolling over the land have compressed the soil, the scientists said. Shelling has hurt the small organisms that enrich the soil. And mining, digging and explosions might have destroyed some farmland completely. 12Mines and lead 13Sviatoslav Baliuk is the head of the Ukrainian Soil Institute. He said the war could reduce Ukraine's production by 10 to 20 million tons. Ukraine's agriculture ministry chose not to comment to Reuters about long-term soil damage and harm to the farming. 14Beyond the fields and soil, Povod and many other farmers lost equipment and storage buildings that will be costly to replace. 15Andriy Vadaturskyi is the head one of Ukraine's largest grain producers. He said farmers need financial help. 16Today, he noted, there is a problem of high prices, but there is food ready to ship out of Ukraine's ports on the Black Sea. He said in one year, the situation could be much worse. There could be "a shortage of food." 17High cost of recovery 18A working group of scientists created by the Ukrainian government estimated it would take $15 billion to remove the mines and make the soil healthy again. 19Baliuk said it could be done in three years or in 200 years depending on how badly the soil is damaged. 20Joseph Hupy studies soil and land at Purdue University in the U.S. state of Indiana. He has written about the effects of war on farmland. He told Reuters that some land in Ukraine might have been changed so much from explosions that it cannot be farmed again. 21Naomi Rintoul-Hynes studies soil at Canterbury Christ Church University in Britain. She said that the lead from ammunition can contaminate the soil so much that plants grown there can be harmful for humans. 22Infrastructure damage 23The problems do not end with the soil, mines and other land damage. The war destroyed roads and railways that get crops to market. 24The Kyiv School of Economics said in October that it might cost more than $35 billion to rebuild roads and other transportation lines. 25Caitlin Welsh studies food security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. She said people think once the war is over, food production will restart. 26"With Ukraine, just repairing the infrastructure is going to take a really long time," Welsh said. 27In addition, some of the farmers are running out of money. Dmitry Skornyakov, leads HarvEast, a Ukrainian farming company. He said farmers have enough money right now, because they had a good year just before the war started. 28However, he said, half the farmers will have serious financial problems if the war goes into 2024. 29"The future," he said, "is from grey to dark at the moment." 30I'm Dan Friedell. 31Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters. 32_____________________________________________________________________ 33Words in This Story 34breadbasket -idiom an area that produces a lot of food 35tractor -n. a farm vehicle used to pull heavy loads 36decade -n. a period of 10 years 37compress -v. to crush or press a material to force the air out of it to make it smaller 38____________________________________________________________________ 39We want to hear from you. Do you think the farms will recover sooner or later? 40We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 41Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.