Humanitarian demining of agricultural land is a priority for the Government, as despite the war, Ukraine remains a guarantor of global food security. And the clean-up of contaminated land is a crucial element of Ukraine's economic recovery and public safety.

This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during a meeting with Pierre Vauthier, Head of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Ukraine Country Office, Matthew Hollingworth, Representative and Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Ukraine, and Paul Heslop Mine Action Coordinator of the UN Office in Ukraine.

"The Government is mobilising all resources to develop a comprehensive mine action policy. The most important thing is the safety of people. At the same time, Ukraine continues to fulfill its international obligations as a guarantor of global food security. Currently, the main efforts are focused on: Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv and Cherkasy regions. With the support of donors and international partners, we have set a goal to restore 165,000 hectares to economic use by the end of 2023 and 305,000 hectares by the end of 2024," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

According to the SES (State Emergency Service) and STSS (State Transport Special Service), Ukraine needs at least 83 demining vehicles for rapid and comprehensive demining. This year, 26 demining vehicles are expected to be delivered from European manufacturers. Ukraine also needs 368 vehicles to transport explosives, 50 of which have already been contracted by donors. There is a need for 465 vehicles to transport people, of which 110 have also been purchased by donors.

The First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine stressed the need to develop state institutions that can train demining specialists and certify private demining operators.

"The creation of an open market for demining services in Ukraine will facilitate coordinated cooperation between state institutions, NGOs and private operators, and will accelerate the clearance of territories. This requires strong coordination and financial support from international donors and national governments. We are also counting on the full support of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in this process," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

During the meeting, the parties discussed specific projects in the field of humanitarian demining that Ukraine is implementing and plans to implement in the future. It was noted that priority areas of agricultural land have been selected, where relevant survey and clearance work is being carried out or will be carried out in the short term. In addition, infrastructures in different regions of the country will be inspected and cleared of mines, etc.

Pierre Vauthier, for his part, noted that he fully supports Ukraine in its intentions to carry out humanitarian demining and confirmed the need to speed up this process. He also stressed the need to ensure that demining operators are certified to international standards. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) needs Ukrainian grain and food to overcome world hunger and will fully assist Ukraine in attracting all necessary resources for the demining of contaminated areas.

Background

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is the UN specialised agency that leads international efforts to fight hunger. Ukraine joined the FAO in 2003, and since 2015, the Organisation has been working in two strategic areas: emergency humanitarian assistance in conflict-affected areas and agricultural development throughout the country.