Ministry of Economy discusses drought situation in six Ukrainian regions

Ukraine’s Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Oleksii Sobolev, held a conference call to address drought-related issues.

The discussion focused on the hydrometeorological situation in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Kherson regions, as well as potential mechanisms for state support to mitigate the impact of climatic factors.

The meeting was attended by representatives of regional military administrations, the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre, and relevant Ministry departments.

According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre, this year’s harvest has been affected by multiple factors, including frosts and drought in certain regions.

Representatives of regional administrations reported on the condition of agricultural crops, particularly the damage and losses to this year’s harvest caused by drought.

Key proposals from regional administrations for state support to minimise farmers’ losses included:

• Preferential taxation;
• Compensation for costs per hectare of cultivated land;
• The need to launch irrigation systems in affected areas.

“Irrigation and additional investments in land reclamation systems in regions most affected by drought annually should help us address this issue in the long term. We will work on tools to support farmers in at-risk regions to minimise future harvest losses,” said Oleksii Sobolev.

The Minister thanked participants for the information provided and noted that the issues raised have been recorded. The Ministry, together with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and central executive bodies, will work on resolving these matters.