Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on farmers to sow as much land as possible to protect food supplies. However, several of the country’s biggest agribusinesses say this will not happen in some places if the war continues.
The country needs to organize a full-fledged sowing campaign throughout its territory, “to the extent possible,” Zelensky said in a video released on Friday. “It all depends on the people and the situation, because it’s about life.”
Ukraine is the world’s second largest supplier of grains and the largest exporter of sunflower oil, Bloomberg notes.
One of Ukraine’s largest agricultural companies, UkrLandFarming, reported that several of its managers were killed in Sumy, northern Ukraine and Kyiv.
As a result of the Russian invasion, UkrLandFarming lost at least 120,000 hectares of land in Kherson, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, or about a third of its land portfolio. Forced to close three egg farms, including Europe’s largest factory “Chernobaevka” near Kherson, where 3.1 million laying hens die.
“We continue to produce eggs, milk and prepare for the sowing campaign in those areas where the situation is more or less stable. We understand that the sowing campaign, which is so important now, is in jeopardy,” he said.