Ukraine Needs Over $20 Billion and 10 Years to Restore the Agricultural Sector

Restoring Ukraine’s agricultural lands after the war will require over $20 billion, which accounts for about 15% of the “pre-war” gross domestic product (GDP). This process is expected to take more than 10 years, according to experts from the Institute of Economic Research.

This is reported by AgroReview

Despite Ukraine holding 33% of the world’s black soil reserves, the war continues to cause damage to them. According to specialists’ estimates, the scale of the damage is as follows:

• urgent needs for land reclamation – about $1.1 billion;
• the cost of demining all lands – about $30 billion, of which approximately $22 billion is specifically needed for agricultural land.

The main factors causing soil damage are:

• explosive destruction that mixes the fertile topsoil with the lower layers;
• soil compaction by heavy military equipment;
• chemical contamination with heavy metals and fuel;
• destruction of tree belts that protected against erosion.

Furthermore, Ukraine may lose some areas from agricultural circulation for an extended period, as complete demining of some of them will be impossible. The experiences of Belgium and France indicate that even 100 years after World War I, farmers continue to find shells.