Dr. Oleksandr Labenko (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine) “Ukrainian Agriculture and Food Security Under Martial Law: National and Global Impacts.”

Abstract

In addition to causing tremendous suffering among the population, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24,2022presented a devasting shock to the national economy, including the agricultural sector which produced xx% of the nation’s GDP in 2021.“More than 55 percent of the country is arable land, and agriculture provides employment for 14 percent of Ukraine’s population.” “Agricultural products are Ukraine’s most important exports. In 2021 they totaled $27.8 billion, accounting for 41 percent of the country’s $68 billion in overall exports.” Source:https://www.fas.usda.gov/regions/ukraine.Prior to World War I, Ukraine was known as “Europe’s breadbasket”, due largely to its rich black soils primarily in the eastern part of the county? which are estimated to represent about 25% of the world’s total; in addition, more than half of Ukraine’s land area of 603,700 km²is arable.In 1930, the USSR enforced the collective, state-planned agricultural system, which removed private incentives leading to significant declines in grain output and a famine in 1931/32. The devastating effects of World War II on the farm sector were felt until 1960, and even by 1990 the country’s agricultural output was far below its potential, with only a 1.2 average annual rate of expansion.At least until 2000, the lack of growth was attributed to a generally unsuccessful economic transformation, with per capita income representing less than 10% of Poland’s and 4% of Hungary’s (Mertens, 2001).

The situation in Ukraine at the time of this writing is fluid, with conditions are changing daily, including the recent resumption of grain shipments by ship through the Black Sea.Substantial and valuable ongoing information and analysis are provided by numerous authors and organizations.^[1]In addition to presenting a brief historical context, this report seeks to provide a general sense of the role of Ukraine’s agriculture in meeting global food consumption needs, where the primary production areas are in the country relative to where the invasion has recently focused, and ongoing challenges with respect to export activity. Our main contribution, therefore, is to shed light on regional economic conditions and changes with Ukraine.