Humanitarian demining of agricultural lands is a priority task for the Government, because despite the war, Ukraine remains the guarantor of global food security. And mine clearance of contaminated land is the most important element of economic recovery of Ukraine and the safety of the population.

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 FAO Ukraine country office, Matthew Hollingworth, Designated Responsible Officer and WFP Country Director in Ukraine, and Paul Heslop, Mine Action Coordinator of the UN Mission in Ukraine.

“The government is mobilizing all resources to form a comprehensive demining 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 concentrated in: Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Mykolayiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv and Cherkasy oblasts. With the support of donors and international partners, we have set the goal of restoring economic exploitation of 165,000 hectares by the end of 2023 and 305,000 hectares by the end of 2024,” Yuliia Svyrydenko noted.

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and State Transport Special Service, Ukraine needs at least 83 demining machines for quick and complex demining. This year, 26 demining machines from European manufacturers are expected to be delivered. Ukraine also needs 368 vehicles for transporting explosive elements, 50 of which have already been contracted by donors. There is a need for 465 cars to transport people, 110 of which have also already been purchased by donors.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine emphasized 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 promote coordinated cooperation between state institutions, non-governmental organizations and private operators, and will accelerate the clearing of territories. This requires strong coordination and financial support from international donors and national governments. We also count on the comprehensive support of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in this process,” Yuliia Svyrydenko emphasized.

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. As it was mentioned, the priority areas of agricultural lands, on which the relevant surveying and cleaning works are being carried out,  or will be carried out in the short term, have been selected for the time being. In addition, infrastructures in various regions of the country are surveyed and demined, etc.

Pierre Vauthier, for his part, noted that he fully supports Ukraine in its intentions regarding humanitarian demining and confirmed the need to speed up this process. Separately, he emphasized the need to ensure certification of demining operators who would work according to international standards. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) needs Ukrainian grain and food to overcome hunger in the world, and will comprehensively support Ukraine in attracting all the necessary resources for the demining of contaminated territories.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to fight hunger. Ukraine joined FAO in 2003, and since 2015 the Organization has been working in two strategic areas: emergency humanitarian aid in conflict-affected regions and development of agriculture throughout the country.