Ukraine Farmers Plant Even Less Grain for Second Wartime Harvest
- Export hurdles sap farmers’ finances for the coming season
- Global grain stockpiles seen falling near lowest in a decade
A destroyed Russian tank sits in a snow covered wheat field in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Feb. 22.
Photographer: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Oleksandr Klepach’s fields in southern Ukraine would normally be teeming with shoots of wheat and rapeseed in spring. This March, they’re infested with weeds instead.
The farmer couldn’t plant autumn-sown crops on his 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) because the area was occupied by Russian forces. Troops have since retreated, but mines still need to be cleared, costs for inputs like fuel and pesticides have soared and he hasn’t been able to find enough seed to sow barley now.