Millions of hectares under threat: drought could cover half of Ukraine's agricultural land by 2050

Land cultivation in Mykolaiv region, photo:  NikVesti

Climate change and a critical decline in the water balance could make half of the country's agricultural land unusable for cultivation. By 2050, the drought zone will cover millions of hectares.

According to Mykhailo Sokolov, Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, in a commentary to AgroPortal, no more than 4 million hectares will be covered by irrigation. The rest — more than 11 million hectares — will be left without water.

«What to do with the rest of the land? 11 million hectares will simply be impossible to use. If we start cutting production, it will be not only our problem as a business and a country, but also a global problem. And perhaps it will be worse than the climate problem,» said Sokolov.

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He also emphasises the importance of focusing on medium-sized agricultural enterprises with 1,000 to 10,000 hectares of land. It is they who often do not have access to innovative agricultural solutions.

«If we want to have a practical impact on agriculture, we need to offer something to farmers that will improve their lives and increase their yields,» the expert stressed.

It is worth reminding that every year droughts in Ukraine are becoming a new reality rather than an exception. Mykolaiv region, along with Odesa, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, is among the regions with the highest vulnerability to droughts and desertification.