War has changed the agricultural map in Kherson region: there will be less onions

As of the end of March 2026, almost 100 farms are engaged in vegetable growing in the de-occupied part of Kherson region, which is 5 times less than before the war.

This was reported to Suspilne Kherson by Dmytro Yunusov, director of the regional department of agricultural development and irrigation.

According to him, about 1000 hectares are currently planted with vegetable crops. Farmers grow greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, and zucchini.

At the same time, the total area under vegetable production in 2026 is expected to be at the level of last year - about 7000 hectares. Farmers plan to increase the area under gourds, while onion crops will be reduced due to low prices in the previous season.

Before the full-scale invasion, about 500 farms were engaged in vegetable production in Kherson region. The main areas were concentrated on the left bank, which has been under temporary occupation since 2022.

According to Yunusov, before the war, the region was the leader in Ukraine in vegetable production, with up to 1.5 million tons of produce and about 700,000 tons of potatoes harvested annually. Currently, these figures are much lower due to the loss of irrigation and part of the territory.

As Intent previously reported, farmers in Kherson region, in cooperation with the Canadian MetaCluster TIASI and GREEK CHALLENGE, planted the first olive seedlings.

Earlier, in Mykolaiv region, a farmer created a unique "smart greenhouse" that automatically regulates watering, lighting, and heating using IoT sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Maksym Netudykhata came up with the idea of automation after he lost part of his crops due to lack of watering during a business trip. This was the impetus for creating an innovative greenhouse.

The project was implemented with the support of the Blue Innovation Challenge, where the farmer received a grant of USD 10 thousand. He also invested UAH 500 thousand in a new greenhouse complex.

Андрій Колісніченко