By KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Bomb disposal units of government agencies and non-governmental operators inspected more than 22,000 hectares of agricultural land in October 2023, including 4,750 hectares over the last week of the month, according to the press service of the Economy Ministry of Ukraine.
“At the beginning of the year, when developing a plan for the priority return of the most valuable Ukrainian lands to economic exploitation, we set ourselves an ambitious goal to return up to 165,000 hectares to farmers this year. And today we can say that the goal has been achieved. Thanks to the heroic and hard work of our bomb experts, around 178,000 hectares were returned to economic use. These are lands on which, according to the results of the survey, no mines and explosives were found, or cleared and demined lands,” First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko was quoted as saying.
According to her forecasts, subsequent work will be more difficult for bomb squads, since they will have to, among other things, inspect and clear land with a high density of contamination. The government is preparing for this stage of work by training bomb experts, equipping new units, and purchasing machinery and equipment for mine clearance. The domestic production of mine clearance machines is gaining momentum. In addition, there is support from international partners.
The Economy Ministry recalled that the plan for the priority return of agricultural land provides for a priority inspection, and, if necessary, cleaning and demining of more than 470,000 hectares of farmland. The plan is expected to be implemented within four years. Lands are examined in order of priority, taking into account the density of contamination and the economic feasibility of cleanup. The latter, in turn, depends on the type of crops that are planned to be sown in the cleared area. Thus, the least contaminated lands are subject to demining first, in particular, those with perennial plantations and on which the sowing of vegetable and melon crops is planned.
As reported, according to military-civil administrations, since the beginning of 2023, some 234,759 hectares of land have been checked in Ukraine, and almost 178,000 hectares of them have been returned to economic use.
