This year’s sowing campaign in Ukraine is bloody

The sowing campaign of 2022 will forever go down in history as the one during a full-scale invasion – with victims, mined fields, fuel shortages, seeds transported from warehouses under fire, and stolen products. However, the motivation of Ukrainian farmers impresses international experts, analysts, and partners no less than the motivation of the Armed Forces. Figures with the area of sown crops prove it. Thus, spring crops in the controlled territory of Ukraine were planted on 14,163,400 hectares. This is almost 3,000 hectares less than last year (16,916,000 hectares). However, given the conditions, these indicators show that Ukraine will not only be able to feed its citizens but also still has high export potential.

"The structure of sown areas has not changed much in the main crops. Spring wheat was sown almost the same as last year. The same goes for barley, oats, and buckwheat. However, the area with corn and sunflower has decreased: 4,620 hectares and 4,680 hectares in 2022 against 5,470 hectares and 6,000 hectares in 2021, respectively," Suzana Grigorenko, Executive Director of the Seed Association of Ukraine, said.

Instead, the area under soybeans and spring oilseed rape increased. Notably, there were cases when farmers, having corn seeds and necessary plant protection products ready for sowing in a warehouse, chose soy, spring wheat, or some other crops. This is primarily due to the need for more careful care of corn and the fact that corn is an export crop.

(WBJ)