The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine has launched a website for farmers seeking to participate in the state programme for compensation of agricultural land demining costs. The website provides a central hub of essential information, enabling farmers to quickly check their eligibility for the programme and offering detailed instructions on how to submit applications through the State Agrarian Register. The launch of this website marks the first stage of an information campaign aimed at increasing farmer participation in the programme and improving the quality of submitted applications.

Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during a briefing on the launch of the initiative said the government is committed to returning war-affected lands to use as quickly as possible.

“For the second consecutive year, UAH 3 billion (about U.S. $73 million) have been allocated to the state programme for agricultural land clearance,” Bezkaravainyi said.  

“Currently, we see somewhat worse dynamics of activities compared to last year. We understand that this is partly due to the current active sowing campaign season. Farmers are in the fields with other important priorities at the moment. But we don't want to just observe, we’reacting preventively. The goal of our information campaign is to reach every farmer working in frontline regions, so they know about the programme and what they need to do to be able to demine their lands at the state's expense and work safely on their land,” Bezkaravainyi said. 

Benjamin Lark, UNDP Mine Action Programme Manager, said UNDP was proud to support this crucial initiative, which directly addresses the devastating impact of explosive ordnance contamination on Ukraine's agricultural sector.

“By working together with the Ministry of Economy, the Centre for Humanitarian Demining, and with the generous support of the Republic of Korea, we’re committed to empowering farmers with the knowledge and resources they need to safely cultivate their land, contributing to the country's recovery and future resilience,” Lark said.

The safety of agricultural workers remains a priority for the state. Demining fields not only allows land to be returned to use but also saves the lives of people working in these areas. According to the IMSMA information system, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 200 people have been injured by explosive ordnance detonations during field work. There have been fatalities and damaged equipment. This highlights the critical importance of professional land survey and clearance before the start of seasonal work.

This year, as of 22 April, farmers had submitted 228 applications to the programme, of which 191 were rejected. A total of 15 auctions for agricultural land demining services have taken place, amounting to UAH 299.1 million ($7.3 million) for a total area of 4,413.9 hectares. 

These figures are significantly lower than last year's, when 50 out of 195 applications were approved, covering an area of over 9,600 hectares, with agreements totalling UAH 536.6 million ($13 million).

Volodymyr Baida, Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Demining said that the most common reason for refusing farmers was the lack of non-technical survey on the land plots where they work. 

“There were 102 such applications this year,” Baida said. “That’s why this year the Centre for Humanitarian Demining, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and local military administrations, is working to engage operators to conduct non-technical surveys on farmlands in frontline regions. This can be done using donor funds, state funds, or by (farmers) paying for such work (themselves).”

The information campaign will also include meetings with farmers in frontline regions and the distribution of informational booklets about the programme directly in war-affected communities.   

The communication campaign to promote the state programme for compensation of agricultural land demining costs is being developed by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the national platform Demine Ukraine, and the Centre for Humanitarian Demining, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and funding from the Republic of Korea.