Destruction of Kakhovka HPP will turn fields in the south of Ukraine into a desert – the Ministry of Agrarian Policy

The destruction of the Kakhovka HPP as a result of a terrorist act committed by the Russian Federation may turn fields in the south of Ukraine into a desert as early as next year. Such a statement was made by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on June 6.

Preliminary, about 10 thsd ha of agricultural land will be flooded only in the right-bank part of the Kherson region.

“And also several times more on the left bank of the region, which is currently under occupation. Detailed information will be known in the coming days, after the analysis of information and pictures about the size of the flooding,” the Ministry of Agrarian Policy noted.

In addition, the man-made disaster will stop the water supply of 31 field irrigation systems in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions. In 2021, these systems provided irrigation for 584 thsd ha, from which about 4 mln tonnes of grains and oilseeds were harvested for a total of about $1.5 bln.

“In 2023, only 13 irrigation systems will operate on the right bank of the Dnipro River. The terrorist act at the Kakhovka HPP left 94% of the irrigation systems in the Kherson region, 74% in the Zaporizhia region, and 30% in the Dnipropetrovsk region without a water source,” the message states.

“We emphasize that all data are given only according to preliminary estimates. Final conclusions can be made only when the water level stabilizes,” the ministry emphasized.

Tags: Kakhovka HPP, Grains, desert, oilseeds, harvested, Dnipro River, disaster, fields, destruction, Kherson region, agricultural land, Ukraine, flooded, Russia