More than 70 percent of agricultural land has been cleared of mines in de-occupied Kherson region

This year, the area of sown land in the de-occupied part of Kherson region has tripled due to the demining of 71% of agricultural land. Farmers are wrapping up harvesting.

According to Dmytro Butrii, First Deputy Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, in 2024, farmers sowed more than 153 thousand hectares of land in the de-occupied territories of Kherson region. They have already harvested about 190 thousand tons of cereals and legumes, 23 thousand tons of rapeseed, 38 thousand tons of sunflower, 15 thousand tons of potatoes, 57 thousand tons of vegetables, and 22.5 thousand tons of watermelons and melons.

"Our farmers have made significant progress compared to last year. Thanks to large-scale field demining, the area under crops has tripled. Currently, 71% of agricultural land has been cleared of mines. This is about 363 thousand hectares," the official said.

According to him, farmers in Kherson and Beryslav districts have already received almost 100 modular granaries and more than 200 sleeves. This will allow them to store up to 140 thousand tons of grain in 2024.

In August, sappers in Kherson region searched for Russian explosives and cleared almost half of the de-occupied right-bank Kherson region. This is more than 335,000 hectares, of which 302,000 hectares are fields where Kherson farmers can now work.

Earlier, Dmytro Yunusov , Director of the Department of Agriculture of the Kherson Regional State Administration, explained that on the right bank of the Kherson region, one tenth of the agricultural land will be unsuitable for its intended use for some time, even after it is completely demined. According to him, the reason is that Russian shells and burned equipment leave behind chemical contamination, which makes it impossible to grow cereals or vegetables there. Such fields need to be fully reclaimed and decontaminated.

At the current rate, it will take at least two years to clear the right-bank Kherson region of mines. As of early March, one third of the liberated territories had been surveyed. On this area alone, explosive experts found and destroyed more than 155,000 mines, tripwires, unexploded ordnance and other explosives. More than 1,020 sappers are working on demining. In just one year, their number has increased tenfold. They continue to work on this in Kherson region.

It was also mentioned that from now on, farmers in Kherson region can apply for compensation for land demining through the State Agrarian Register. The compensation program applies to both land owned by the farmer and land leased by him.

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