Ukrainian farmers have signed agreements this year with the State Fisheries Agency's water management organizations to irrigate nearly 40,000 hectares of fields in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odessa, and Kirovohrad regions.
This was reported by the press service of the State Agency for Land Reclamation, Fisheries, and Food Programs.
"Developing the irrigation system is one of the State Fisheries Agency’s priorities. It not only supports our farmers in the arid regions of the south and east, but it also represents an investment in food security. Irrigation can boost yields per hectare by 2–3 times. We are working on restoring and reconstructing irrigation systems. With support from international partners, 18 modernization projects of reclamation infrastructure are currently being implemented in Ukraine, which will restore irrigation to over 6,000 more hectares," said the head of the agency, Vladyslav Neveselyi.
Currently, over 30,500 hectares in southern and central regions are under irrigation. Farmers grow grains, peas, sunflower, corn, soybeans, vegetables, strawberries, melons, and rice on these irrigated lands. Orchards and vineyards are also irrigated. Since last year, cotton has also been cultivated on irrigated plots.
According to the agency, irrigation is carried out via sprinkling, drip systems, and flooding.
