Cultivated farmland area in Sumy region shrinks by 4% since war-start

That’s according to Oleksandr Maslak, chief of the agri department in the regional administration, Ukrinform reports.

Due to the lack of an opportunity to safely proceed with agricultural works on the entire territory of the region, the sown areas for agricultural crops have decreased by 4% against last year, amount to 1,032 million hectares, the official noted.

Among top rated crops grown in Sumy region today are wheat, corn (industrial), sunflower, soy, and rapeseed.

"Following the sowing campaign, the area for wheat in Sumy region is 167,500 hectares, 2% more than last year. The areas for cereals and corn decreased, amounting to 258,700 hectares. In total, grain and leguminous crops have been sown on an area of ​​478,000 hectares, which is 8% below last year’s figures," said Maslak.

Another 455,900 hectares were sown with oil crops, including sunflower, soybean, and rapeseed.

"At the same time, the sunflower sowing area decreased to 169,200 hectares. The area for ​​soybeans was up to 220,200 hectares, and for rapeseed – to 66,500 hectares," Maslak detailed.

The structure of cultivated areas in the region was influenced by the situation on the global and domestic markets.

"In 2024, agricultural producers and plant-growing firms across Sumy region exported their produce to six countries. Soybeans were exported to Turkmenistan, millet – to Italy, sunflower oil – to Poland, and sunflower meal – to Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Lithuania," Maslak added.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi stated that the sowing campaign completed in Ukraine late May. Some 97% of the fields have been sown with spring crops.