Last year, 208K ha of land returned to agrarians for use - Economy Ministry

In 2023, sappers of the State Emergency Service, the State Transport Special Service, and private operators surveyed 274,000 hectares of agricultural land, 208,000 hectares of which have already been transferred to farmers.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Ministry of Economy.

"We started 2023 with not very encouraging figures - no heavy demining vehicles, six mine action operators, and 1,500 sappers. The new year started with almost 30 vehicles, 26 operators, more than 3,000 sappers, and assurances from our partners that they are ready to invest almost half a billion euros in humanitarian demining in Ukraine. Some partner countries and international organizations have already started to allocate these funds," First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said.

Thanks to the strengthened capacity of government institutions and an increase in the number of operators, the survey and demining of territories was carried out at a faster pace during the year.

According to Svyrydenko, if 174,000 km² of Ukrainian territory was considered potentially dangerous at the beginning of 2023, today, as a result of mine action, 156,000 km² remain so. That is, 18,000 km² of fields, forests, and water areas have been returned to people's use thanks to the work of specialists.

Thus, over the year, sappers of the State Emergency Service, the State Transport Special Service, and private operators inspected 274,000 hectares of agricultural land - 58% of the four-year plan, 208,000 hectares of which have already been transferred to farmers.

"Last year we again had Kherson watermelons, Mykolaiv tomatoes and peppers on our tables. Prioritized demining of vegetable-growing land allowed us to ensure domestic consumption of vegetables. The kutia or beignets we tasted on Christmas Day were probably made from wheat grown on the mine-free lands of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions. First of all, I am grateful to the sappers of the State Emergency Service, the State Transport Special Service for this, as well as Ukrainian and international non-governmental operators," Svyrydenko emphasized.

As reported, the Ministry of Economy is working to create and launch a highly competitive market for demining services. An innovative approach being developed is to offer partners to patronize certain areas or sectors of work.