Landmines Severely Disrupt Ukraine’s Agricultural Economy

An article posted by UNDP makes clear how landmines have wreaked havoc on farm operations in Ukraine. Fifty-seven countries import its grain, according to UNDP; before the war, almost 90 percent of wheat exports went to food-insecure countries in Africa and Asia. 

UNDP quotes Serhii Tsvetkov, who has a farm in Mykolaiv Oblast that was mined by Russian troops: “I had 3,500 hectares, but at this moment I would say that I have half that I can use.” Decontaminating Ukrainian farmlands will restore people’s livelihoods and return an essential component to the world’s food supply. UNDP Ukraine, funded by 13 countries around the world, is leading a five-year program aimed at reversing the contamination of Ukraine with landmines and other explosive remnants of war.