Ukraine allocates 85 mln USD for farmland demining

KIEV, Aug. 4, (Xinhua/GNA) — The Ukrainian government, has allocated about 85 million U.S. dollars for humanitarian demining of agricultural lands, the cabinet press service reported on Friday.

“Our task is to return all farmland to use as soon as possible,” Denys Shmyhal, Ukrainian Prime Minister, told a government meeting.

According to him, a total of 47 mine action operators and more than 2,200 bomb disposal engineers, work in Ukraine to clear the lands from unexploded ordnance.

Shmyhal said the demining teams had already surveyed, cleared and returned 310,000 hectares of agricultural land to use.

Shmyhal stressed the importance of developing and supporting the agricultural sector, saying that Ukraine has earned 12.4 billion dollars from food exports in the first half of this year.

In January, the Ukrainian Economy Ministry said that 512,000 hectares of agricultural land are due to be cleared from landmines and other remnants of war planted during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
GNA