In spring, Ukraine is waiting for a second sowing amid a full-scale war. Agrarians told UAC about expectations and peculiarities of preparation for sowing in 2023.

We can immediately outline the same problems for farmers all over the country: expensive fertilizers and lack of money for their purchase. Unselling crops have led to the absence of funds. In some warehouses grain has been in storage since 2021. Low prices for agricultural products and logistics problems have a negative impact. Another factor - tax officials are massively blocking tax bills, which prevents farmers from cooperating with contractors. Agrarians in the de-occupied territories or in the war zones have problems related to fighting and mining.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy predicts a decrease of the sown area at least 20% from the indicator in 2021. Direct factors are: further occupation, hostilities and mining.

Another feature of the spring sowing season will be the refuse to sow wheat in favor of oil crops, the experts states.

"We shouldn't expect the whole country to be planted with sunflowers, rapeseed and soybeans as there are crop rotation requirements. But the amount of niche crops will increase. There will be more area under buckwheat and peas. The prices are good in the country and their cultivation meets the food security requirements," said Denys Marchuk. He added that a feature of spring sowing in 2023 will be planting on fallow lands.

The interviewed farmers confirmed this. The head of the Sokil-Agro Halyna Osadchuk said  that the year before the farm had sown 100 hectares of wheat, and they planned to sow the crop only on those fields where crop rotation would be needed.

"We bought fuel and seeds. But we haven't bought fertilizers yet, because the unsold crops. The price of fertilizers increased to UAH 37,500 per ton. For comparison, last year we bought 18,000 UAH/t, and in 2021, fertilizers cost 9,000 UAH/t. Wheat of the 2021 and 2022 harvests has not been sold due to the low price. Sometimes it is possible to sell for $100 per ton. Therefore, this year our farm will focus on growing sunflowers seeds and soybeans. But there will be no spring wheat and barley," said chair of Sokil-Agro Halyna Osadchuk, Khmelnytskyi region.

The situation is similar in the center of Ukraine. Farmers believe that the price of fertilizers does not justify the desired effect of their use.

"Today, fertilizers are expensive. We saved 10-20% less than we needed. We understand that without fertilization, the harvest will be smaller. The fuel was bought, the seeds were partially bought and the required quantity was reserved. We will sow corn, sunflower, beets and soybeans. But we will grow less corn, we have large leftovers. Now it is difficult to export grain. We used to sow beans, but yield is low. But in general, we consider the spring sowing to be satisfactory", - commented the member of the UAC, the chair of LLC "Kishentsi" Case Huzinha, Cherkasy region. The agrarians in the south have recorded a fall in sales rates. In addition, mass blocking of tax invoices prevents it from working. But they are not going to change the crop structure.

"One of the problems that really bothers is the poor selling and blocking of tax invoices. The truck can  queue for unloading for two weeks. Therefore, there is a product, but there is no money. And every sale immediately cause the suspicion of the tax authorities and, accordingly, the blocking of invoices. That is why it is difficult to work with suppliers. Some invoices can be unlocked, others cannot. If there is a court decision on unblocking, the tax authorities do not want to execute it. We will not change the structure of the crops, because we work according to a certain technology," says Anatoliy Zaporozhan, chair of LLC "YUG Agro service", Odesa region.

The worst situation is for farmers in de-occupied regions and those located close to the front. Shelling and mined fields has caused problems there.

"I haven't bought anything yet for spring sowing. Out of 3,000 hectares 1,000 hectares are mined. An application for demining was submitted immediately after the deoccupation. The Emergency Service will not demine in the near future, because of the lack of time. We are now communicating with nearby farms to clear the fields on our own. Their situation is even worse, all the land is "seeded" with explosives. We will look for a solution on our own, because today it is cheaper to buy a field than to demine it. We are considering the possibility of buying a drone that searches mines or renting a special car. Otherwise, life will not return to our villages. Allotments are waiting, I need to demine the fields and sow seeds this year," said Oleg Girman, head of the Yavirske PE, Kharkiv region.