Due to the drought this year, Odesa region lost about 60% of its sunflower and corn crop. The head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Oleh Kiper, said this in an interview with Ukrinform , UNN reports.
Drought is a problem in the southern part of the region. As a result, we lost 50-60% of our sunflower and corn harvest there. We are working to improve irrigation and land reclamation. We are cleaning canals, installing new pumps, and filling up drying lakes. The temperature is rising every year, which is bad. We have land reclamation projects for 140 thousand hectares, and we hope for US support in this regard, and we are currently negotiating with our partners
As for the grain harvest, it was also not high this year, Kiper continued.
The sun burned everything that was possible. The harvest is low, last year it was about the same. On average, it was up to 40 centners per hectare. If there had been irrigation, we would have had a different result. For example, one of the farms in Podil district, which has drip irrigation, harvests up to 70 centners per hectare
Last year, the company launched an experiment in watermelon growing in Odesa region. The area under melons was doubled to 3.2 thousand hectares, and it paid off. Evaluating the experiment, Kiper noted its success, adding that this year the region's farmers have again increased the area under melons.